Medical/biological study (experimental study)

Neuroprotective effects of melatonin and omega-3 on hippocampal cells prenatally exposed to 900 MHz electromagnetic fields med./bio.

By: Erdem Koc G, Kaplan S, Altun G, Gümüs H, Gülsüm Deniz O, Aydin I, Emin Onger M, Altunkaynak Z

Published in: Int J Radiat Biol 2016; 92 (10): 590-595

Aim of study (acc. to author)

The neurotoxic effects of prenatal exposure of rats to a 900 MHz electromagnetic field on hippocampal cells and the protective effects of melatonin and omega-3 should be investigated.

Background/further details

Pregnant rats were divided into the following groups (n=3 each): 1) exposure to the electromagnetic field, 2) exposure to the electromagnetic field and melatonin injections (50 mg/kg/day), 3) exposure to the electromagnetic field and feeding with omega-3 pellets (10% of food), 4) only melatonin treatment, 5) only omega-3 treatment, 6) sham exposure group, 7) cage control group. After birth, 2 male rats from each mother (total of n=6 per group) were further raised for 28 days without exposure and then investigated.

Endpoint

effects on the neurological system: neuron number in hippocampus of offspring

Exposure

- 900 MHz
- RF field
- mobile communications
- mobile phone
- co-exposure

Exposure	Parameters
Exposure 1: 900 MHz Modulation type: CW Exposure duration: 1 hour/day from the 1st to the 21st day of gestation	power density: 1 mW/cm² mean (± 0.4 mW/cm²) SAR: 2 W/kg peak value

Exposure 1

Main characteristics

Frequency	900 MHz
Type	electromagnetic field
Exposure duration	1 hour/day from the 1st to the 21st day of gestation

Modulation

Modulation type	CW

Exposure setup

Exposure source	monopole
Distance between exposed object and exposure source	1 cm
Chamber	restrainer tubes made of 5 mm thick plexi glass; restrainers consisted of a cylinder (6.5 cm diameter, 12 cm length) and a truncated cone (3 cm length) in which the rat's head was inserted
Setup	6 animals were exposed simultaneously (remark EMF-Portal: but there were only 3 animals per group); during exposure, rats were kept in restrainers and heads were placed in the direction of the antenna for local exposure; the antenna was fixed within a 1 cm distance around the rats' heads; holes were made in the restrainer to allow breathing and to minimize body temperature elevation
Sham exposure	A sham exposure was conducted.
Additional info	(remark EMF-Portal: groups only treated with melatonin (group 4) or omega-3 (group 5) were probably not sham exposed, i.e., not restrained)

Parameters

Measurand	Value	Type	Method	Mass	Remarks
power density	1 mW/cm²	mean	measured	-	± 0.4 mW/cm²
SAR	2 W/kg	peak value	-	-	-

Additional parameter details

(remark EMF-Portal: it is unclear how the stated SAR-value was determined, if it refers to the mothers or their offspring and if it refers to the head or the whole body)

Reference articles

Ulubay M et al. (2015): Effects of prenatal 900 MHz electromagnetic field exposures on the histology of rat kidney

Exposed system:

animal
rat/Wistar (in utero)
partial body: head of mothers

Methods Endpoint/measurement parameters/methodology

effects on the neurological system: histology of hippocampus in offspring (total neuron number in regions CA 1-3, optical fractionator method)

Investigated system:

tissue slices

Investigated organ system:

brain/CNS

Time of investigation:

after exposure

Main outcome of study (acc. to author)

The total number of neurons in the hippocampus was significantly lower in the exposure group (group 1) compared to all other groups, except for group 5 (omega-3 treatment).
The authors conclude that prenatal exposure of rats to a 900 MHz electromagnetic field might have neurotoxic effects in hippocampal cells and that melatonin and omega-3 might have a protective effect in a co-exposure setting.
(remark EMF-Portal: as only the heads of mothers were exposed to the electromagnetic field and no dosimetry was given for the fetuses, the actual prenatal exposure of the offspring is not comprehensible)

Study character:

medical/biological study
experimental study
full/main study

Study funded by

University of Ondokuz Mayis, Samsun, Turkey

Comments on this article

Mortazavi SAR et al. (2017): Comments on 'Neuroprotective effects of melatonin and omega-3 on hippocampal cells prenatally exposed to 900 MHz electromagnetic fields'

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