Looking at the other Side of the Coin Stimulatory/Beneficial Effects of

Exposure to Mobile Phone Radiation

SAR Mortazavi & SMJ Mortazavi

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Medical StudentShiraz University of Medical

Sciences

Prof. of Medical PhysicsShiraz University of Medical

Sciencesmmortazavi@sums.ac.ir

Summary• No doubt, exposure to RF radiation emitted

from mobile phones may cause some detrimental effects.

• However, in some special circumstances, these radiations may cause some stimulatory or beneficial effects.

• Our team is currently preparing a review article on the stimulatory/beneficial effects of exposure to mobile phone radiation.

Mortazavi SMJ, Ph.D

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SummaryIn this presentation, publications of other researchers as well as our own articles as follow

are reviewed:• Long-term EMF treatment can provide general cognitive benefit to very old Alzheimer's Tg mice and

normal mice, as well as reversal of advanced Aβ neuropathology in Tg mice without brain heating.

PLoS One. 2012;7(4):e35751. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0035751. Epub 2012 Apr 25.

• Electromagnetic treatment to old Alzheimer's mice reverses β-amyloid deposition, modifies cerebral blood flow, and provides selected cognitive benefit.

Arendash GW1, Mori T, Dorsey M, Gonzalez R, Tajiri N, Borlongan C.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22558216

• The necessity of looking at the other side of the coin of the health effects of mobile phone radiation J Environ Health Sci Eng. 2014 Apr 26;12:75. doi: 10.1186/2052-336X-12-75. eCollection 2014.

Looking at the other side of the coin: the search for possible biopositive cognitive effects of the exposure to 900 MHz GSM mobile phone radiofrequency radiation.

Mortazavi SA1, Tavakkoli-Golpayegani A2, Haghani M1, Mortazavi SM3.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24843789

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Summary• The visual reaction time of university students significantly decreases after a 10 min

exposure to radiofrequency radiation emitted by a mobile phone. Acta Neurol Belg. 2012 Jun;112(2):171-5. doi: 10.1007/s13760-012-0044-y. Epub 2012 Feb 10.

Human short-term exposure to electromagnetic fields emitted by mobile phones decreases computer-assisted visual reaction time.

Mortazavi SM1, Rouintan MS, Taeb S, Dehghan N, Ghaffarpanah AA, Sadeghi Z, Ghafouri F.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22426673

• Occupational exposures to radar radiations decrease the reaction time in radar workers. Iran J Public Health. 2013 Apr 1;42(4):428-35. Print 2013.

Alterations of visual reaction time and short term memory in military radar personnel.Mortazavi SM1, Taeb S, Dehghan N.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23785684

• RF radiation may have a role in protecting against cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease. J Biomed Phys Eng. 2013 Sep 17;3(3):109-12. eCollection 2013.

Exposure to mobile phone radiation opens new horizons in Alzheimer's disease treatment.Mortazavi S1, Shojaei-Fard M2, Haghani M2, Shokrpour N3, Mortazavi S4.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25505755Mortazavi SMJ, Ph.D

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Summary• Pre-exposure of mice to radiofrequency radiation emitted by a GSM mobile phone

increases their resistance to a subsequent Escherichia coli infection. Dose Response. 2013 Jul 18;12(2):233-45. doi: 10.2203/dose-response.12-055.Mortazavi.

eCollection 2014.

Non-linear adaptive phenomena which decrease the risk of infection after pre-exposure to radiofrequency radiation.

Mortazavi SM1, Motamedifar M2, Namdari G3, Taheri M4, Mortazavi AR3, Shokrpour N5.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24910582

• Radiofrequency-induced phenomena may have very important applications in long term space missions.Counterbalancing immunosuppression-induced infections during long-term stay of humans in

space

S.M.J. Mortazavia, M. Motamedifarc, G. Namdarid, M. Taherie, A.R. Mortazaviddoi:10.1016/j.jmhi.2012.12.001

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2251729412000365

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Summary• Exposure to microwave radiation may induce a significant survival adaptive response

after exposure to lethal doses of gamma rays. Dose Response. 2012 Jul 2;11(2):281-92. doi: 10.2203/dose-response.12-010.Mortazavi. Print 2013.Increased Radioresistance to Lethal Doses of Gamma Rays in Mice and Rats after Exposure to

Microwave Radiation Emitted by a GSM Mobile Phone Simulator.

Mortazavi S1, Mosleh-Shirazi M, Tavassoli A, Taheri M, Mehdizadeh A, Namazi S, Jamali A, Ghalandari R, Bonyadi S, Haghani M, Shafie M.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23930107

• A total of 60 elementary school children ages ranging from 8 to 10 years studying at a public elementary school in Shiraz, Iran were enrolled in a study. It was shown that short-term exposure of elementary school students to RF radiation leads to the better performance of their short-term memory.

• J Pediatr Neurosci. 2014 May;9(2):121-4. doi: 10.4103/1817-1745.139300.• Does exposure to GSM 900 MHz mobile phone radiation affect short-term memory of elementary

school students?• Movvahedi MM1, Tavakkoli-Golpayegani A2, Mortazavi SA3, Haghani M4, Razi Z1, Shojaie-Fard

MB5, Zare M4, Mina E4, Mansourabadi L4, Nazari-Jahromi1,Safari A1, Shokrpour N4, Mortazavi SM6.• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25250064

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EMF Ocean!We live in an ocean of ionizing and nonionizing radiation

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Possible Detrimental Effects

• No doubt, exposure to RF radiation emitted from mobile phones may cause some detrimental effects.

• Behavioural effects• Cognitive Function• Sperm Count and

Sperm Quality• Electromagnetic

hypersensitivity• Sleep Disorders• Genotoxic effects?

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Some detrimental effects of exposure to electromagnetic fields have also been reported by our team!

EMF-related Subjective Symptoms• Some cell phone users

report symptoms such as headache, dizziness, tinnitus, insomnia, attention and concentration problems, myalgia, fatigue and palpitation after talking too long.

• However, no significantly higher prevalence of self-reported symptoms was found in our studies.

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Mortazavi et al. Bioelectromagnetics, 2007• No significantly higher prevalence of self-reported symptoms was

found in individuals who had used mobile phones, video display terminals or cordless phones more frequently than others.

• Mass-media’s lack of interest in the possible hazards of exposure to EMF in developing countries can explain the difference observed between the results of this study and those of other researchers in some developed countries who have shown an association between EMF exposure and the prevalence of self-reported subjective symptoms.

• This finding can confirm the results obtained in provocative studies which indicated the role of psychological factors in electromagnetic hypersensitivity.

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Mortazavi et al. Technology and Health Care, 2011• No statistically significant changes between the

means of the biological parameters such as heart rate, respiration, and blood pressure in real/sham exposure were observed.

• Our findings clearly confirm the results obtained in other provocative studies.

• These data also indicate the possible role of psychological factors in electromagnetic hypersensitivity.

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SMJ Mortazavi, Ph.D & SAR Mortazavi

Stimulatory/Beneficial Effects of Exposure to Mobile Phone Radiation

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1. Survival Adaptive Response

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2. Cognitive Beneficial Effects

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Radiofrequency Radiation –Induced Cognitive Beneficial Effects

• On the other hand, the potential beneficial effects of (RF) radiation are not only limited to the induction of adaptive phenomena. Previously, we have indicated that the visual reaction time (VRT) of university students was significantly affected by a 10 min exposure to electromagnetic fields emitted by a mobile phone (7).

•

SMJ Mortazavi, Ph.D & SAR Mortazavi

SMJ Mortazavi, Ph.D & SAR Mortazavi

SMJ Mortazavi, Ph.D & SAR Mortazavi

Mortazavi et al. Acta Neurol Belg, 2012

Radiofrequency Radiation –Induced Cognitive Beneficial Effects• Furthermore, we have shown that occupational

exposures to radar radiations decreased reaction time in radar workers.

• Altogether our results revealed that these exposures caused decreased reaction time which might lead to a better response to different hazards and decrease the probability of human errors and fatal accidents.

SMJ Mortazavi, Ph.D & SAR Mortazavi

EMF Exposure and Short Term Memory in Children

• A total of 60 elementary school children ages ranging from 8 to 10 years studying at a public elementary school in Shiraz, Iran were enrolled in a study. It was shown that short-term exposure of elementary school students to RF radiation leads to the better performance of their short-term memory.

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SMJ Mortazavi, Ph.D & SAR Mortazavi

SMJ Mortazavi, Ph.D & SAR Mortazavi

Mortazavi et al. Iranian J Publ Health, 2013

Radiofrequency Radiation –Induced Cognitive Beneficial Effects• On the other hand, cognitive beneficial effects of

long term exposure to high frequency EMF have been indicated by some studies.

• Using a word interference test, in 2007, Arns et al. showed that long term heavy cell phone use resulted in better performance of normal subjects.

SMJ Mortazavi, Ph.D & SAR Mortazavi

Radiofrequency Radiation –Induced Cognitive Beneficial Effects

• Moreover, Schuz et al. in 2009 reported that long-term cell phone users (subscribers of 10 years or more) had a 30–40% decreased risk of hospitalization due to AD and vascular dementia (10).

SMJ Mortazavi, Ph.D & SAR Mortazavi

SMJ Mortazavi, Ph.D & SAR Mortazavi

Challenging Arendash’s Report

• Recently, Arendash reported that long-term transcranial electromagnetic treatment (TEMT) can prevent and reverse both cognitive impairment and brain amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition in AD transgenic mice.

• He also claimed that TEMT even improves cognitive performance in normal mice.

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Challenging Arendash’s Report

• Recently, Arendash reported that long-term transcranial electromagnetic treatment (TEMT) can prevent and reverse both cognitive impairment and brain amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition in AD transgenic mice.

• He also claimed that TEMT even improves cognitive performance in normal mice.

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Radiofrequency Radiation –Induced Cognitive Beneficial Effects

• In this light, a challenging issue will be if there are other RF-induced stimulating effects and to explore the potential applications of these effects. Further research may shed light on dark areas of the health effects of short and long-term human exposure to radiofrequency radiation.

SMJ Mortazavi, Ph.D & SAR Mortazavi

SMJ Mortazavi, Ph.D & SAR Mortazavi

Thank you

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