Doubt cast on mobile-phone radiation as a cure
Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2010 8:48 am
From Dementia News of 20 January 2010 (reproduced here by kind permission of the author):
Mobile phones and dementia
There has been considerable media attention given to a study that reports that
mice who were exposed over several months to an electromagnetic field enjoyed
both cognition-protective and cognition-enhancing effects from this exposure.
From this it has been postulated that mobile-phone use may be protective
against Alzheimer’s disease in humans. Perhaps, before reaching for our
mobiles to spread the good news, it would be wise to look at what the
researchers have said and about whom they have said it.
The research, which is in press in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, was
conducted by Dr Gary Arendash and colleagues from the Florida Alzheimer's
Disease Research Centre. The researchers experimented on 96 mice, most of
whom had been genetically impaired to develop an Alzheimer’s-like disease.
These mice were caged in a circle around an antenna that emitted
electromagnetic waves at 918 megaHertz with a specific energy-absorption rate
of 0.25 watts per kilogram of mouse. Each mouse was exposed to these
electromagnetic waves for an hour twice a day. Other genetically impaired mice
and normal mice were used as controls.
Testing after four months and seven months of exposure putatively showed that
whilst the unexposed genetically impaired mice were losing cognitive function,
the normal mice and the genetically impaired mice exposed to mobile-phone
radiation of greater than background intensity, were not.
The researchers also irradiated older genetically impaired mice, who had already
started to show signs of cognitive decline. After eight months of exposure, these
mice reportedly showed some cognitive-function recovery and, upon being killed
and autopsied, showed changes in their deposition of beta-amyloid (a protein
associated with Alzheimer’s disease) in the brain, including an increase in the
more soluble form of the protein (presumably over that in non-irradiated older
genetically impaired mice).
Dr Arendash and colleagues conclude that electromagnetic-field exposure may
represent a non-invasive, non-pharmacologic treatment for Alzheimer’s disease
and an effective memory-enhancing approach in general.
Keeping in mind that Alzheimer’s disease is a complicated condition with, as yet,
unknown causes and a very complex physiological profile, there are a number of
things to consider in relation to this research, beginning with the context of this
latest study by Dr Arendash and colleagues.
Dr Arendash has, along with various colleagues, a long-standing interest in
conducting experiments on mice genetically impaired to develop an Alzheimer’s-
like disease. In 2005, he and others published the results of experiments in
which genetically impaired mice raised in what the researchers deemed
environmentally enriching caging outperformed those in standard caging. They
concluded that “pharmacological agents designed to mimic environmental
enrichment-induced changes in gene expression may provide new approaches to
Alzheimer’s disease therapy/prevention”. 1.
In 2008, Dr Arendash and colleagues once again reported on the benefits of
environmental enrichment, this time in aged genetically impaired mice, stating
that such enrichment benefited the mice without affecting either brain or plasma
concentrations of beta-amyloid. They suggested that it followed that frequent
and long-term cognition stimulation/rehabilitation could lead to substantial
cognitive benefit for people with Alzheimer’s disease irrespective of their
concentration of brain beta-amyloid. 2.
Again in 2008, Dr Arendash and colleagues reported that mobilisation of bone-
marrow stem cells with granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor improves cognitive
performance in genetically impaired “Alzheimer’s” mice. 3.
Another publication from 2008 by Dr Arendash and colleagues reported that
genetically impaired mice given caffeine in their drinking water (equivalent to five
cups of coffee per day in humans) are protected from development of otherwise
certain cognitive impairment. The impaired mice given caffeine demonstrated
much better working memory than genetically impaired control mice; reversal of
cognitive impairment; and, according to the researchers, even reversal of
Alzheimer’s disease pathology, although it is of note that reversal is impossible to
see as mice cannot be revived after autopsy. Upon killing and autopsying the
mice, the researchers reported that even those mice who had had substantial
pre-existing beta-amyloid burden were found to have substantially less beta-
amyloid deposition in their hippocampi (parts of the brain that are often affected
early in Alzheimer’s disease), and correlatively less brain soluble-beta-amyloid
(presumably again, than their non-caffeinated impaired counterparts). 4.
In view of their findings, Dr Arendash and colleagues suggested that caffeine has
treatment potential in cases of established Alzheimer’s disease.
Returning to electromagnetic waves and Alzheimer’s disease. Despite the
genetic relatedness of mice and men, mice who are genetically impaired to
develop a disease that has some pathologies similar to those seen in humans
with Alzheimer’s disease are not a mirror of the human condition. In fact, in
some cases, the pathophysiology underlying certain human diseases works in
reverse when superficially similar diseases are induced in genetically impaired
mice. As with Dr Arendash 's previous work, the significance of this latest study
needs assessment in light of the possible irrelevance of inducing genetic
impairment to give rise in mice to a disease state that may be only superficially
similar to Alzheimer's disease (NB: we have not yet identified the exact
pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease) and the danger of unwisely
extrapolating findings in one species to another.
Indeed, simple common sense might lead us to reflect on a fairly straightforward
observation: that both the use of mobile phones and the incidence of Alzheimer’s
disease are on the rise. The irrelevance of one to the other may explain perfectly
why mobile phone use and coffee-drinking appear to be doing little if anything to
stem the onrushing tide.
Reference: Arendash GW, Sanchez-Ramos J, Mori T, Mamcarz M, Lin X,
Runfeldt M, Wang L, Zhang G, Sava V, Tan J, Cao C (2010). Electromagnetic
field treatment protects against and reverses cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's
disease mice. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease 19; 191–210. In press.
Link: http://www.j-alz.com/issues/19/vol19-1.html
1.
Reference: Potter H, Costa DA, Cracciola JR, Hughes T and Arendash GW (2005).
Environmental enrichment prevents cognitive decline and induces memory-related gene
expression in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. Journal of Alzheimer and Dementia
Volume 1, Issue 1.
Link: http://www.alzheimersanddementia.com/ar ... 4/abstract
2.
Reference: Arendash GW, Mamcarz M, Dickson A, Wang L, Xiaoyang, Cao C, Potter H (2008).
Environmental enrichment “sessions” are sufficient to provide cognitive benefit to impaired
Alzheimer's transgenic mice without affecting brain or plasma Aβ levels. Journal of Alzheimer
and Dementia Volume 4, Issue 4.
Link: http://www.alzheimersanddementia.com/ar ... 5/abstract
3.
Reference: J. Sanchez-Ramos, S. Song, C. Cao, X. Lin, T. Mori, G. Arendash (2008).
Granulocyte-colony simulating factor reduces hippocampal amyloid load and improves behavioral
performance in a transgenic Alzheimer's disease mouse model. Journal of Alzheimer and
Dementia Volume 4, Issue 4.
Link: http://www.alzheimersanddementia.com/ar ... X/abstract
4.
Reference: Arendash GW, Mori T, Cao C, Mamcarz M, Runfeldt M, Dickson A, Rezai-Zadeh
K, Tan J, Citron BA, Lin X, Echeverria V, Potter H (2008). Caffeine reverses cognitive
impairment, decreases β-amyloid levels, and reduces inflammation in aged Alzheimer's mice:
Implications for Alzheimer's treatment. Journal of Alzheimer and Dementia Volume 4, Issue 4.
Link: http://www.alzheimersanddementia.com/ar ... 9/abstract
Dementia News is published by Alzheimer's Australia, and subscription is freely available electronically by writing to Alzheimer's Australia's scientific research officer, Michele Hawkins, at >.
Cheers --
John
--
------------------------------------------------------------------
"We lose ourselves when we compromise the very ideals that we fight to defend. And we honour those ideals by upholding them not just when it is easy, but when it is hard."
-- Barack Obama, Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, 10 December 2009
Mobile phones and dementia
There has been considerable media attention given to a study that reports that
mice who were exposed over several months to an electromagnetic field enjoyed
both cognition-protective and cognition-enhancing effects from this exposure.
From this it has been postulated that mobile-phone use may be protective
against Alzheimer’s disease in humans. Perhaps, before reaching for our
mobiles to spread the good news, it would be wise to look at what the
researchers have said and about whom they have said it.
The research, which is in press in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, was
conducted by Dr Gary Arendash and colleagues from the Florida Alzheimer's
Disease Research Centre. The researchers experimented on 96 mice, most of
whom had been genetically impaired to develop an Alzheimer’s-like disease.
These mice were caged in a circle around an antenna that emitted
electromagnetic waves at 918 megaHertz with a specific energy-absorption rate
of 0.25 watts per kilogram of mouse. Each mouse was exposed to these
electromagnetic waves for an hour twice a day. Other genetically impaired mice
and normal mice were used as controls.
Testing after four months and seven months of exposure putatively showed that
whilst the unexposed genetically impaired mice were losing cognitive function,
the normal mice and the genetically impaired mice exposed to mobile-phone
radiation of greater than background intensity, were not.
The researchers also irradiated older genetically impaired mice, who had already
started to show signs of cognitive decline. After eight months of exposure, these
mice reportedly showed some cognitive-function recovery and, upon being killed
and autopsied, showed changes in their deposition of beta-amyloid (a protein
associated with Alzheimer’s disease) in the brain, including an increase in the
more soluble form of the protein (presumably over that in non-irradiated older
genetically impaired mice).
Dr Arendash and colleagues conclude that electromagnetic-field exposure may
represent a non-invasive, non-pharmacologic treatment for Alzheimer’s disease
and an effective memory-enhancing approach in general.
Keeping in mind that Alzheimer’s disease is a complicated condition with, as yet,
unknown causes and a very complex physiological profile, there are a number of
things to consider in relation to this research, beginning with the context of this
latest study by Dr Arendash and colleagues.
Dr Arendash has, along with various colleagues, a long-standing interest in
conducting experiments on mice genetically impaired to develop an Alzheimer’s-
like disease. In 2005, he and others published the results of experiments in
which genetically impaired mice raised in what the researchers deemed
environmentally enriching caging outperformed those in standard caging. They
concluded that “pharmacological agents designed to mimic environmental
enrichment-induced changes in gene expression may provide new approaches to
Alzheimer’s disease therapy/prevention”. 1.
In 2008, Dr Arendash and colleagues once again reported on the benefits of
environmental enrichment, this time in aged genetically impaired mice, stating
that such enrichment benefited the mice without affecting either brain or plasma
concentrations of beta-amyloid. They suggested that it followed that frequent
and long-term cognition stimulation/rehabilitation could lead to substantial
cognitive benefit for people with Alzheimer’s disease irrespective of their
concentration of brain beta-amyloid. 2.
Again in 2008, Dr Arendash and colleagues reported that mobilisation of bone-
marrow stem cells with granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor improves cognitive
performance in genetically impaired “Alzheimer’s” mice. 3.
Another publication from 2008 by Dr Arendash and colleagues reported that
genetically impaired mice given caffeine in their drinking water (equivalent to five
cups of coffee per day in humans) are protected from development of otherwise
certain cognitive impairment. The impaired mice given caffeine demonstrated
much better working memory than genetically impaired control mice; reversal of
cognitive impairment; and, according to the researchers, even reversal of
Alzheimer’s disease pathology, although it is of note that reversal is impossible to
see as mice cannot be revived after autopsy. Upon killing and autopsying the
mice, the researchers reported that even those mice who had had substantial
pre-existing beta-amyloid burden were found to have substantially less beta-
amyloid deposition in their hippocampi (parts of the brain that are often affected
early in Alzheimer’s disease), and correlatively less brain soluble-beta-amyloid
(presumably again, than their non-caffeinated impaired counterparts). 4.
In view of their findings, Dr Arendash and colleagues suggested that caffeine has
treatment potential in cases of established Alzheimer’s disease.
Returning to electromagnetic waves and Alzheimer’s disease. Despite the
genetic relatedness of mice and men, mice who are genetically impaired to
develop a disease that has some pathologies similar to those seen in humans
with Alzheimer’s disease are not a mirror of the human condition. In fact, in
some cases, the pathophysiology underlying certain human diseases works in
reverse when superficially similar diseases are induced in genetically impaired
mice. As with Dr Arendash 's previous work, the significance of this latest study
needs assessment in light of the possible irrelevance of inducing genetic
impairment to give rise in mice to a disease state that may be only superficially
similar to Alzheimer's disease (NB: we have not yet identified the exact
pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease) and the danger of unwisely
extrapolating findings in one species to another.
Indeed, simple common sense might lead us to reflect on a fairly straightforward
observation: that both the use of mobile phones and the incidence of Alzheimer’s
disease are on the rise. The irrelevance of one to the other may explain perfectly
why mobile phone use and coffee-drinking appear to be doing little if anything to
stem the onrushing tide.
Reference: Arendash GW, Sanchez-Ramos J, Mori T, Mamcarz M, Lin X,
Runfeldt M, Wang L, Zhang G, Sava V, Tan J, Cao C (2010). Electromagnetic
field treatment protects against and reverses cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's
disease mice. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease 19; 191–210. In press.
Link: http://www.j-alz.com/issues/19/vol19-1.html
1.
Reference: Potter H, Costa DA, Cracciola JR, Hughes T and Arendash GW (2005).
Environmental enrichment prevents cognitive decline and induces memory-related gene
expression in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. Journal of Alzheimer and Dementia
Volume 1, Issue 1.
Link: http://www.alzheimersanddementia.com/ar ... 4/abstract
2.
Reference: Arendash GW, Mamcarz M, Dickson A, Wang L, Xiaoyang, Cao C, Potter H (2008).
Environmental enrichment “sessions” are sufficient to provide cognitive benefit to impaired
Alzheimer's transgenic mice without affecting brain or plasma Aβ levels. Journal of Alzheimer
and Dementia Volume 4, Issue 4.
Link: http://www.alzheimersanddementia.com/ar ... 5/abstract
3.
Reference: J. Sanchez-Ramos, S. Song, C. Cao, X. Lin, T. Mori, G. Arendash (2008).
Granulocyte-colony simulating factor reduces hippocampal amyloid load and improves behavioral
performance in a transgenic Alzheimer's disease mouse model. Journal of Alzheimer and
Dementia Volume 4, Issue 4.
Link: http://www.alzheimersanddementia.com/ar ... X/abstract
4.
Reference: Arendash GW, Mori T, Cao C, Mamcarz M, Runfeldt M, Dickson A, Rezai-Zadeh
K, Tan J, Citron BA, Lin X, Echeverria V, Potter H (2008). Caffeine reverses cognitive
impairment, decreases β-amyloid levels, and reduces inflammation in aged Alzheimer's mice:
Implications for Alzheimer's treatment. Journal of Alzheimer and Dementia Volume 4, Issue 4.
Link: http://www.alzheimersanddementia.com/ar ... 9/abstract
Dementia News is published by Alzheimer's Australia, and subscription is freely available electronically by writing to Alzheimer's Australia's scientific research officer, Michele Hawkins, at >.
Cheers --
John
--
------------------------------------------------------------------
"We lose ourselves when we compromise the very ideals that we fight to defend. And we honour those ideals by upholding them not just when it is easy, but when it is hard."
-- Barack Obama, Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, 10 December 2009