Study type: Medical/biological study (experimental study)

Neural and behavioral teratological evaluation of rats exposed to ultra-wideband electromagnetic fields med./bio.

Published in: Bioelectromagnetics 2000; 21 (7): 524-537

Aim of study (acc. to author)

To study if teratological changes occur in rat pups as a result of (1) daily ultra wideband exposures during gestation days 3-18, or (2) as a result of both prenatal and postnatal (10 days) exposures.

Endpoint

Exposure

Exposure Parameters
Exposure 1: 0.1–1 GHz
Modulation type: pulsed
Exposure duration: repeated daily exposure for 2 min, see add. information

Exposure 1

Main characteristics
Frequency 0.1–1 GHz
Type
Waveform
Charakteristic
  • guided field
Exposure duration repeated daily exposure for 2 min, see add. information
Modulation
Modulation type pulsed
Pulse width 1.8 ns
Rise time 300 ps
Repetition frequency 1,000 Hz
Exposure setup
Exposure source
Setup Each rat was lightly restrained within a cylindrical Plexiglas™ holder that was placed within a custom-made parallel transmission plate exposure system with the long axis of the body parallel to the K-vector of the propagating field.
Sham exposure A sham exposure was conducted.
Additional info Dams were exposed during gestation days 3 to 18 either to UWB or sham irradiation or, as a positive control, to lead (Pb) acetate solution (2 g/l) continuously available in the drinking water. The second exposure regimen group received the same prenatal exposures, but in addition, the pups were postnatally exposed (UWB, sham, or Pb acetate) from day 1 to 10. The Pb-exposed rats were transported to and from the UWB exposure facility, but were not placed inside the parallel plates.
Parameters
Measurand Value Type Method Mass Remarks
electric field strength 55 kV/m peak value measured - -
SA 0.45 mWs/kg peak value calculated - -
SAR 45 mW/kg mean estimated whole body dams

Reference articles

  • Jauchem JR et al. (1999): Lack of effects on heart rate and blood pressure in ketamine-anesthetized rats briefly exposed to ultra-wideband electromagnetic pulses
  • Jauchem JR et al. (1998): Ultra-wideband electromagnetic pulses: lack of effects on heart rate and blood pressure during two-minute exposures of rats

Exposed system:

Methods Endpoint/measurement parameters/methodology

Investigated system:
Time of investigation:
  • during exposure
  • after exposure

Main outcome of study (acc. to author)

Behavioral, functional, and morphological effects of ultra wideband irradiation were unremarkable with these exceptions: (1) The exposed pups emitted significantly more stress vocalizations than the sham-exposed pups; (2) the medial-to-lateral length of the hippocampus was significantly longer in the exposed animals than in the sham-exposed pups; (3) male offspring exposed in utero mated significantly less frequently than sham-exposed males, but when they did mate there was no difference in fertilization and offspring numbers from the sham-exposed group.
There does not appear to be a unifying physiological or behavioral relationship among the significant differences revealed, and the data could be due to the expected spurious results derived when a large number of statistical comparisons are made.

Study character:

Study funded by

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