Mobile phone emissions reverse the effects of Alzheimer's

by Stevie Smith - Jan 7 2010, 10:22

According to some negative studies, the prolonged use of mobile phones can cause potentially deadly brain tumours. Scary stuff. However, it’s not all bad news for the humble handy, with a new study claiming that – get this – mobile phone use can halt and even reverse the effects of Alzheimer’s.

According to researchers at the University of South Florida (USF), high-frequency magnetic waves projected at 96 laboratory mice from a mobile phone antenna has resulted in the destruction of beta-amyloid protein fragments in the brain – a key contributor to destructive Alzheimer’s plaques.

The core point of hope for Alzheimer’s sufferers is that the electromagnetic waves produced during testing are very similar to those emitted by conventional mobile phone devices – a link scientists feel could hold substantial benefits for those battling the debilitating form of dementia.

The study, which has been published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, found that many months of regular electromagnetic exposure (one hour, twice daily) actually shielded those test mice genetically programmed to get Alzheimer’s and even boosted the memory capacities of regular mice.

“When we got our initial test results showing a beneficial effect, I thought, ‘Give it a few more months and it will get bad for them [the mice],’” commented lead study author and USF professor Gary Arendash in an AFP report.  

“It never got bad. We just kept getting these beneficial effects in both the Alzhiemer’s and normal mice,” he added.

Although the tests simulated the exact levels of exposure and electromagnetic parameters created when a human holds a mobile phone against their ear, Arendash was keen to point out that further testing was needed and achieving similar positive effects in human patients could require many years of exposure.

While clearly an encouraging step forward in the fight against Alzheimer’s, Rebecca Wood, chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, was keen to point out that effects in mice may vary wildly when compared to those in humans, urging Alzheimer’s patients not to suddenly spend vast amounts of time on their mobile phones.

“We don’t recommend spending 24 hours a day on a mobile phone,” she advised, “we don’t know the long-term effects, and bills could go through the roof.”  

Around the Web