Quelle: Fachzeitschrift Environmental Health Perspectives, 29.1.2003

Hochsignifikante Ergebnisse, deutlicher Dosis-Wirkungszusammenhang

Eine neue Studie der Universität Lund (Abteilung Neurochirurgie), die von Leif Salford geleitet wurde, hat bei Ratten Hirnschäden nachgewiesen, nachdem diese nur 2 Stunden der Strahlung handelsüblicher GSM-Handys ausgesetzt wurden, wie sie heute überall verwendet werden.

Die Forscher untersuchten 12- bis 26-Wochen alte Ratten, da ihr Entwicklungsniveau mit dem von Teenagern vergleichbar ist, die Mobiltelefone mit am meisten nutzen. Das russische Strahlenschutzkomitee rät Kinder und Jugendlichen unter 16 Jahren sowie Schwangeren komplett von Mobiltelefonen ab.

"Die Situation des wachsenden Hirns könnte besonders problematisch sein", schreiben die Autoren der Studie, "da biologische und Wachstumsprozesse besonders verletzlich sind. Wir können nicht ausschliessen, dass es nach jahrelanger häufig täglicher Nutzung bei einer ganzen Generation von Nutzern schon im mittleren Alter zu negativen Folgen kommen kann."

Drei Gruppen von Ratten wurden 2 Stunden lang der elektromagnetischen Strahlung von GSM-Mobiltelefonen ausgesetzt, wobei verschiedene Stärken verwendet wurden. GSM steht für Global System for Mobile Communications und ist in Europa und vielen Ländern des Mittleren Ostens und Asiens der Hauptstandard für Mobiltelefone. GSM ist auch einer von mehreren Standards, mit denen Mobiltelefone in den USA arbeiten.

Die Studie fand einen Zusammenhang mit der elektromagnetischen Immission und dem Eindringen von Albumin (Eiweißstoff) durch die Blut-Hirn-Schranke und Neuronenschäden, die in Abhängigkeit von der Stärke der Strahlung zunahmen.

Englischer Originaltext von Environmental Health Perspectives:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Brandon Adams (919-653-2585)
29 January 2003

Mobile Phone Exposure Causes Brain Damage in Rats

[RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC] A study published today in the online edition of the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) found for the first time that electromagnetic fields (EMFs) emitted by certain mobile phones damaged neurons in the brains of rats.
The researchers studied 12- to 26-week-old rats because their developmental age is comparable to that of human teenagers, who are some of the heaviest users of mobile phones. "The situation of the growing brain might deserve special concern," the study authors wrote, "since biological and maturational processes are particularly vulnerable. We cannot exclude that after some decades of often daily use, a whole generation of users may suffer negative effects as early as middle age."

Three groups of rats were exposed for 2 hours to GSM mobile phone EMFs of different strengths. GSM, which stands for Global System for Mobile Communications, is the main standard for mobile phones used in Europe, as well as in many countries in the Middle East and Asia. GSM is one of several standards by which mobile phones in the United States operate.

The study found that EMF exposure was associated with leakage of albumin through the blood-brain barrier and neuronal damage that increased in response to the amount of exposure. The authors acknowledged that the study sample was small, but stated that "the combined results are highly significant and exhibit a clear dose-response relation."

Earlier EMF studies have focused on whether exposure might cause cancer, with some studies finding increased risk but most showing no effects or even decreased risk.

"Scientists have been looking for some time at the possible effects of exposure to the energy coming out of cell phones," says Dr. Jim Burkhart, science editor for Environmental Health Perspectives. "These scientists decided to look in a new place, studying potential nerve damage, rather than cancer growth. Their results suggest a strong need for further study as we all rely on cell phones more and more."

The study team was headed by Leif G. Salford of the Department of Neurosurgery at Lund University in Sweden. Other authors include Arne E. Brun, Jacob L. Eberhardt, Lars Malmgren, and Bertil R.R. Persson. The study will appear in a future print issue of EHP. EHP is the journal of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. More information is available online at http://www.ehponline.org/.

Editor's note: : A full copy of the report is available by fax or e-mail (PDF format) to media at no charge. Go to http://www.ehponline.org/press, call 919-653-2585, or e-mail adams6@niehs.nih.gov.

Kommentar des Physikers Bill Curry, Ph. D.:

This research was done by the reknowned Lund University group that has studied opening of the Blood Brain Barrier by exposure to RF radiation for 10+ years.  The online publication is by and precedes full print publication in Environmental Health Perspectives, published by the National Institute of Environental Health.  The article was peer-reviewed, and I think it will be regarded as a significant contribution.  Note that the study involves GSM phones, and the waveform of these transmissions is essentially the same as that of the TDMA phones used in the U.S. TDMA and CDMA are the two types of pulsed digital phones most commonly used in the U.S.  They operate at about 2-2.5 times the frequency of GSM phones but the similarities are so great that I would expect these results to carry over to US TDMA phones, as well. As far as I know there have been no tests of this type on CDMA phones, but there should be.
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