Cell phones damage key brain cells and may cause early onset Alzheimer's disease, studies show. Research in Sweden has found that cell phone radiation damages brain centers associated with learning, memory and movement. The experiments that were conducted on mice made a real turn in the debate, because they unequivocally confirmed that mobile phones are harmful to health.
With such key evidence, a study on this was published by Professor Leif Salford and his colleagues at Lund University in Malmö.
Laboratory analyses
The experiments were conducted on adult mice aged 12 and 26 weeks. Their brains are similar to the level of brain development of teenagers. Mice were exposed for two hours to radiation identical to that from a mobile phone.
Their brains were microscopically analyzed 50 days later. The researchers found that mice exposed to medium and high levels of radiation had many dead brain cells.
Professor Salford says he has good reason to believe mobile phones have the same harmful effect on people.
"The mouse brain has many similarities with the human brain. They have the same blood and neuron boundaries in the brain," he told the BBC. "We have good reason to believe that everything that happens in the brain of mice happens in the brain of humans."
Prof. Leif Salford,
Lund University
Professor Salford stated that there is a high chance that exposure to cell phone radiation can lead to Alzheimer's disease in humans. "What I'm saying is that neurons that are more prone to Alzheimer's may be stimulated earlier in life."
"However, this theory is hypothetical. We don't yet have evidence that the human brain is affected in this way."
The study was published in the journal "Healthy Environmental Perspectives" published by the US government's National Institute for Healthy Environmental Science. In this study, the researchers concluded: "We cannot exclude the possibility that after several decades of use, an entire generation of users may suffer from negative effects even in their middle age."
Further research
Professor Salford says these findings should not affect mobile phone users. "This finding is negative and doesn't look good." But this is just an experiment in a laboratory with a small number of animals. This study will be repeated before we are actually affected. In any case, this is more than enough to carry out new research in this area."
Professor Salford added: "Perhaps constantly holding a mobile phone close to the head is not so good in the long term. Maybe we should start thinking about reducing the use of mobile phones."
A British government-funded study published three years ago found no evidence that mobile phones are harmful.
However, a report by the Independent Mobile Phone Expert Group recommends that teenagers use mobile phones only when absolutely necessary and keep conversations as short as possible.
