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Gepubliceerd: zaterdag 17 maart 2012 10:02

Nature - Neurobehavioral disorders are increasingly prevalent in children, however their etiology is not well understood. An association between prenatal cellular telephone use and hyperactivity in children has been postulated, yet the direct effects of radiofrequency radiation exposure on neurodevelopment remain unknown.

Here we used a mouse model to demonstrate that in-utero radiofrequency exposure from cellular telephones does affect adult behavior. Mice exposed in-utero were hyperactive and had impaired memory as determined using the object recognition, light/dark box and step-down assays. Whole cell patch clamp recordings of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs) revealed that these behavioral changes were due to altered neuronal developmental programming. 

We present the first experimental evidence of neuropathology due to in-utero cellular telephone radiation.

Volledig artikel in Nature met illustraties hier.

Fetal Exposure to Cellphone Radiation Tied to ADHD-Like Symptoms in Mice (US News):

 

In experiments involving mice, fetal exposure to cellphone radiation appeared linked to symptoms in offspring that resemble attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in human children, Yale researchers report.

Moreover, these problems with attention, hyperactivity and memory continued when the mice became adults and were worse the longer they were exposed to cellphone radiation in the womb, the researchers said.

"The hypothesis was that the developing brain might be more susceptible to these types of insults," said senior researcher Dr. Hugh Taylor, a professor and chief of the division of reproductive endocrinology and infertility in the department of obstetrics, gynecology &reproductive sciences.

"We found they seem to have behavioral changes like ADHD. I don't want to sensationalize this -- mice don't have ADHD -- but they had problems with memory, impulsiveness and hyperactivity," he explained.

There have been studies in humans that correlate the amount of time pregnant women spend on a cellphone with their children's ADHD, Taylor added.

"But, these studies were largely dismissed because there are many other things that correlate with cellphone use," he said. "This study is the first one that shows that there is a cause-and effect-relationship," at least in rodents, he said.

The findings  do indicate that cellphone exposure during pregnancy may have effects, Taylor said. "We need to start thinking about how much is safe in humans and limit that exposure," he said.

"I think we need to be careful about radio-frequency exposures in pregnant women," he said. "The radiation may have consequences for the developing brain."

During 19 days of pregnancy, Taylor's team exposed mice to radiation from a turned on -- but muted and silenced -- cellphone placed above the cage. In another group, mice were kept under the same conditions but with a deactivated phone.

The researcher measured electrical activity in the brains of adult mice that were exposed to radiation as fetuses. In addition, they conducted psychological and behavioral tests.

They found the mice exposed to radiation tended to be more hyperactive and had increased anxiety and reduced memory.

The explanation for this finding isn't clear, Taylor said. It might be due to heating of the developing brain cells or electrical changes in these cells, he theorized.

Taylor noted that you don't have to be talking on the cell phone to be exposed to radio-frequency radiation: "There is always radiation transmitted as long as the cellphone is on," he said.

Dr. Francene Gallousis uggests that to be safe, women should limit their exposure to cellphone radiation. She advised them to try to limit the time talking on the cellphone and to not leave it on if it doesn't have to be.

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Twee andere studies die tot gelijkaardige bevindingen kwamen:

Conclusions The findings of the previous publication were replicated in this separate group of participants demonstrating that cell phone use was associated with behavioural problems at age 7 years in children, and this association was not limited to early users of the technology. Although weaker in the new dataset, even with further control for an extended set of potential confounders, the associations remained.

Prenatal and postnatal exposure to cell phone use and behavioral problems in children.

Epidemiology. 2008 Jul;19(4):523-9.

CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to cell phones prenatally-and, to a lesser degree, postnatally-was associated with behavioral difficulties such as emotional and hyperactivity problems around the age of school entry. These associations may be noncausal and may be due to unmeasured confounding. If real, they would be of public health concern given the widespread use of this technology.