Study type: Medical/biological study (experimental study)

Do microwaves alter nervous system structure? med./bio.

By: Albert EN, DeSantis M
Published in: Ann N Y Acad Sci 1975; 247: 87-108
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Aim of study (acc. to editor)

To study if microwaves alter nervous system structure.

Endpoint

Exposure

Exposure Parameters
Exposure 1: 2.45 GHz
Exposure duration: 30 min to 24 h
Exposure 2: 2.45 GHz
Exposure duration: 14 h/day for 22 days

Exposure 1

Main characteristics
Frequency 2.45 GHz
Type
Exposure duration 30 min to 24 h
Exposure setup
Exposure source
Chamber anechoic chamber / 16 ft wide, 16 ft high, 32 ft long
Setup Plexiglas chambers with one animal inside it, placed in the probe area.
Parameters
Measurand Value Type Method Mass Remarks
power density 500 W/m² unspecified - - -
Additional parameter details

The measurements were made 10 ft from the horn and the intensity fluctuations of +/-1.5 mW/cm² calculated over a radius of 9 ft. from the axis.

Exposure 2

Main characteristics
Frequency 2.45 GHz
Type
Exposure duration 14 h/day for 22 days
Exposure setup
Exposure source
Chamber anachoic chamber / 16 ft wide, 16 ft high, 32 ft long
Setup Plexiglas chambers with one animal inside it, placed in the probe area.
Parameters
Measurand Value Type Method Mass Remarks
power density 250 W/m² unspecified - - -

Exposed system:

Methods Endpoint/measurement parameters/methodology

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

Main outcome of study (acc. to author)

Microwave exposure at a frequency of 2450 MHz and at power densities of 25 or 50 mW/cm² for 30 min to 22 days consistently alters some areas of the central nervous system, whereas other regions appear unaltered. The hypothalamus and subthalamus are affected.
At the light microscopic level, neuronal somas in the hypothalamus and subthalamus display vacuolization and chromatolysis.
Observations of the CNS with the electron microscope showed a decrease in the protein synthesis apparatus. There was a distinct scarcity of rough endoplasmic reticulum and polyribosomes. Myelin figures and swollen membranous structures were frequently detected in hypothalamic neuropil dendrites. No alterations were evident in cell bodies of hippocampal pyramidal neurons, Purkinje cells of the cerebellum, mesencephalic nucleus of the trigeminal nerve, motor neurons of the spinal cord ventral horn, or the cell bodies of thalamic relay nuclei. The Fink-Heimer technique has provided some tentative evidence that microwave exposure may produce axonal degeneration.

Study character:

Study funded by

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