Effects Of 1800MHz Electromagetic Radiation On Auditory Brainstem Response And Hippocampus Ultrastructure In Rats

Objective: The extensive use of mobile phones has led to increasing public concern about potential biological health-related effects of the exposure to electromagnetic radiation(EMR).Therefore,this experiment study the effect of electromagnetic radiation at a frequency of 1800 MHz and the specific absorption rate(SAR)of 2,4,10w/kg on hearing threshold and the hippocampal ultrastructure of SD rats.Methods: SD rats were randomly divided into control group(Control),chronic and acute sham Radiofrequency EMR groups(Sham-A,Sham-C),2,4w/kg chronic and 2,4,10w/kg acute exposure to Radiofrequency EMR groups(E2C,E4 C,E2A,E4 A,E10A).The rats in chronic radiation exposure groups were exposed to the mobile phone radiation field for 1 hour every day for 48 days,while those in the acute radiation exposure groups were exposed to EMR for 48 hours.Auditory brainstem response(ABR)was used to detect the changes of hearing threshold before and after exposure,reactive oxygen species(ROS)content was detected with ELISA and utlrasturcture of hippocampus CA3 tissue was investigated withtransmission electron microscope(TEM),apoptosis rate was detected with TUNEL.Results: There was no significant change in ABR in each group after exposure(P>0.05).ROS content increased in acute and E4 C exposure group(P<0.05).There were segmental demyelinating and myelin sheathed lamellae separation in the CA3 region of hippocampus in radiation-exposed groups under TEM,and the mitochondria in nerve cells was swollen in E4 C,E2A,E4 A,E10A groups,autophagy bodies were found in E4 A and E10 A groups.There was no significant difference in apoptosis rate in each group.Conclusions: 1800 MHz EMR does not affect ABR threshold and apoptosis rate of hippocampus CA3 region,but can increase the ROS content and damage the ultrastructure in hippocampus CA3 region.