PMID: 

Toxicol Ind Health. 2018 May ;34(5):315-327. Epub 2018 Mar 21. PMID: 29562845

Abstract Title: 

Melatonin attenuates radiofrequency radiation (900 MHz)-induced oxidative stress, DNA damage and cell cycle arrest in germ cells of male Swiss albino mice.

Abstract: 

Increasing male infertility of unknown aetiology can be associated with environmental factors. Extensive use of mobile phones has exposed the general population to unprecedented levels of radiofrequency radiations (RFRs) that may adversely affect male reproductive health. Therefore, the present study investigated the effect of RFR Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) type, 900 MHz and melatonin supplementation on germ cell development during spermatogenesis. Swiss albino mice were divided into four groups. One group received RFR exposure for 3 h twice/day for 35 days and the other group received the same exposure but with melatonin ( N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) (MEL; 5 mg/kg bw/day). Two other groups received only MEL or remain unexposed. Sperm head abnormality, total sperm count, biochemical assay for lipid peroxides, reduced glutathione, superoxide dismutase activity and testis histology were evaluated. Additionally, flow cytometric evaluation of germ cell subtypes and comet assay were performed in testis. Extensive DNA damage in germ cells of RFR-exposed animals along with arrest in pre-meiotic stages of spermatogenesis eventually leading to low sperm count and sperm head abnormalities were observed. Furthermore, biochemical assays revealed excess free radical generation resulting in histological and morphological changes in testis and germ cells morphology, respectively. However, these effects were either diminished or absent in RFR-exposed animals supplemented with melatonin. Hence, it can be concluded that melatonin inhibits pre-meiotic spermatogenesis arrest in male germ cells through its anti-oxidative potential and ability to improve DNA reparative pathways, leading to normal sperm count and sperm morphology in RFR-exposed animals.

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PMID: 

J Toxicol Environ Health A. 2012 ;75(18):1120-8. PMID: 22891885

Abstract Title: 

Effects of 1800-MHz radiofrequency fields on circadian rhythm of plasma melatonin and testosterone in male rats.

Abstract: 

Radiofrequency fields (RF) at 1800 MHz are known to affect melatonin (MEL) and testosterone in male rats, but it remains to be determined whether RF affected circadian rhythm of these plasma hormones. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to 1800-MHz RF at 208μw/cm² power density (SAR: 0.5762 W/kg) at different zeitgeber (ZT) periods of the day, including 0 (ZT0), 4 (ZT4), 8 (ZT8), 12 (ZT12), 16 (ZT16), and 20 (ZT20) h. RF exposure was 2 h/d for 32 d. From each rat, the concentrations of plasma MEL and testosterone were determined in plasma after RF exposure and compared with controls. The results confirmed the existence of circadian rhythms in the synthesis of MEL and testosterone, but revealed an inverse relationship in peak phase of these rhythms. These rhythms were disturbed after exposure to RF, with the effect being more pronounced on MEL than testosterone. The most pronounced effect of RF exposure on MEL and testosterone appears to be in rats exposed to RF at ZT 16 and ZT0 h, respectively. Data suggest that regulation of testosterone is controlled by MEL and that MEL is more sensitive to RF exposure.

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PMID: 

Mil Med Res. 2017 09 21 ;4(1):29. Epub 2017 Sep 21. PMID: 29502514

Abstract Title: 

Recent advances in the effects of microwave radiation on brains.

Abstract: 

This study concerns the effects of microwave on health because they pervade diverse fields of our lives. The brain has been recognized as one of the organs that is most vulnerable to microwave radiation. Therefore, in this article, we reviewed recent studies that have explored the effects of microwave radiation on the brain, especially the hippocampus, including analyses of epidemiology, morphology, electroencephalograms, learning and memory abilities and the mechanisms underlying brain dysfunction. However, the problem with these studies is that different parameters, such as the frequency, modulation, and power density of the radiation and the irradiation time, were used to evaluate microwave radiation between studies. As a result, the existing data exhibit poor reproducibility and comparability. To determine the specific dose-effect relationship between microwave radiation and its biological effects, more intensive studies must be performed.

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PMID: 

Int J Mol Sci. 2014 Mar 27 ;15(4):5366-87. Epub 2014 Mar 27. PMID: 24681584

Abstract Title: 

Searching for the perfect wave: the effect of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields on cells.

Abstract: 

There is a growing concern in the population about the effects that environmental exposure to any source of"uncontrolled"radiation may have on public health. Anxiety arises from the controversial knowledge about the effect of electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure to cells and organisms but most of all concerning the possible causal relation to human diseases. Here we reviewed those in vitro and in vivo and epidemiological works that gave a new insight about the effect of radio frequency (RF) exposure, relating to intracellular molecular pathways that lead to biological and functional outcomes. It appears that a thorough application of standardized protocols is the key to reliable data acquisition and interpretation that could contribute a clearer picture for scientists and lay public. Moreover, specific tuning of experimental and clinical RF exposure might lead to beneficial health effects.

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PMID: 

J Membr Biol. 2013 Dec ;246(12):869-75. Epub 2013 Oct 9. PMID: 24105626

Abstract Title: 

Recent reports of Wi-Fi and mobile phone-induced radiation on oxidative stress and reproductive signaling pathways in females and males.

Abstract: 

Environmental exposure to electromagnetic radiation (EMR) has been increasing with the increasing demand for communication devices. The aim of the study was to discuss the mechanisms and risk factors of EMR changes on reproductive functions and membrane oxidative biology in females and males. It was reported that even chronic exposure to EMR did not increase the risk of reproductive functions such as increased levels of neoantigens abort. However, the results of some studies indicate that EMR induced endometriosis and inflammation and decreased the number of follicles in the ovarium or uterus of rats. In studies with male rats, exposure caused degeneration in the seminiferous tubules, reduction in the number of Leydig cells and testosterone production as well as increases in luteinizing hormone levels and apoptotic cells. In some cases of male and female infertility, increased levels of oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation and decreased values of antioxidants such as melatonin, vitamin E and glutathione peroxidase were reported in animals exposed to EMR. In conclusion, the results of current studies indicate that oxidative stress from exposure to Wi-Fi and mobile phone-induced EMR is a significant mechanism affecting female and male reproductive systems. However, there is no evidence to this date to support an increased risk of female and male infertility related to EMR exposure.

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PMID: 

Bioelectromagnetics. 1998 ;19(2):123-7. PMID: 9492170

Abstract Title: 

A 0.5 G, 60 Hz magnetic field suppresses melatonin production in pinealocytes.

Abstract: 

The objective of this study was to develop a model for testing various hypotheses concerning possible mechanisms whereby electromagnetic fields might induce suppression of nighttime melatonin production in rodents. A published method for digesting freshly obtained pineal glands to the single cell level was modified, yielding better than 95% viability. An in vitro exposure facility developed for the Food and Drug Administration was used for 12-h overnight exposures of primary pinealocyte cultures to 0.05 mT, 60 Hz, vertical AC and 0.06 microT, DC fields. After exposure, cells were separated from the supernatant by centrifugation. Supernatant melatonin was measured by ELISA assays. Data from 10 experiments demonstrated an average 46% reduction in norepinephrine-induced production of melatonin in the pinealocytes. The results support the hypothesis that EM exposure can produce pineal gland melatonin suppression by affecting individual cells.

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PMID: 

Int J Occup Environ Health. 1996 Jan ;2(1):37-47. PMID: 9933863

Abstract Title: 

Exploring the EMF-Melatonin Connection: A Review of the Possible Effects of 50/60-Hz Electric and Magnetic Fields on Melatonin Secretion.

Abstract: 

This study analyzed the experimental data about the relationship between exposure to 50/60-Hz electric and magnetic fields (EMF) and melatonin secretion by the pineal gland. The authors report their results and discuss possible health consequences, in the light of epidemiologic data suggesting that breast neoplasms and depressive disorders might be related to EMF. The nocturnal peak of melatonin has been reported to be diminished, or time-shifted, or both, in rodents exposed to electric and/or magnetic fields. Current experimental data from primates and humans are insufficient to show that this change occurs in them. Epidemiologic studies of associations between EMF exposure and breast cancer and between EMF exposure and depressive disorders suggest that modifications of melatonin secretion could be a biologic signal of these effects. Nonetheless, changes in melatonin secretion cannot yet be considered a verified biologic explanation of any such association.

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PMID: 

J Pineal Res. 1990 ;9(4):259-69. PMID: 2096195

Abstract Title: 

Evidence for an effect of ELF electromagnetic fields on human pineal gland function.

Abstract: 

A study was carried out to determine possible effects of 60-Hz electromagnetic-field exposure on pineal gland function in humans. Overnight excretion of urinary 6-hydroxymelatonin sulfate (6-OHMS), a stable urinary metabolite of the pineal hormone melatonin, was used to assess pineal gland function in 42 volunteers who used standard (conventional) or modified continuous polymer wire (CPW) electric blankets for approximately 8 weeks. Volunteers using conventional electric blankets showed no variations in 6-OHMS excretion as either a group or individuals during the study period. Serving as their own controls, 7 of 28 volunteers using the CPW blankets showed statistically significant changes in their mean nighttime 6-OHMS excretion. The CPW blankets switched on and off approximately twice as often when in service and produced magnetic fields that were 50% stronger than those from the conventional electric blankets. On the basis of these findings, we hypothesize that periodic exposure to pulsed DC or extremely low frequency electric or magnetic fields of sufficient intensity and duration can affect pineal gland function in certain individuals.

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PMID: 

J Cell Biochem. 1993 Apr ;51(4):394-403. PMID: 8098713

Abstract Title: 

Static and extremely low frequency electromagnetic field exposure: reported effects on the circadian production of melatonin.

Abstract: 

The circadian rhythm of melatonin production (high melatonin levels at night and low during the day) in the mammalian pineal gland is modified by visible portions of the electromagnetic spectrum, i.e., light, and reportedly by extremely low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic fields as well as by static magnetic field exposure. Both light and non-visible electromagnetic field exposure at night depress the conversion of serotonin (5HT) to melatonin within the pineal gland. Several reports over the last decade showed that the chronic exposure of rats to a 60 Hz electric field, over a range of field strengths, severely attenuated the nighttime rise in pineal melatonin production; however, more recent studies have not confirmed this initial observation. Sinusoidal magnetic field exposure also has been shown to interfere with the nocturnal melatonin forming ability of the pineal gland although the number of studies using these field exposures is small. On the other hand, static magnetic fields have been repeatedly shown to perturb the circadian melatonin rhythm. The field strengths in these studies were almost always in the geomagnetic range (0.2 to 0.7 Gauss or 20 to 70 mu tesla) and most often the experimental animals were subjected either to a partial rotation or to a total inversion of the horizontal component of the geomagnetic field. These experiments showed that several parameters in the indole cascade in the pineal gland are modified by these field exposures; thus, pineal cyclic AMP levels, N-acetyltransferase (NAT) activity (the rate limiting enzyme in pineal melatonin production), hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase (HIOMT) activity (the melatonin forming enzyme), and pineal and blood melatonin concentrations were depressed in various studies. Likewise, increases in pineal levels of 5HT and 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid (5HIAA) were also seen in these glands; these increases are consistent with a depressed melatonin synthesis. The mechanisms whereby non-visible electromagnetic fields influence the melatonin forming ability of the pineal gland remain unknown; however, the retinas in particular have been theorized to serve as magnetoreceptors with the altered melatonin cycle being a consequence of a disturbance in the neural biological clock, i.e., the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) of the hypothalamus, which generates the circadian melatonin rhythm. The disturbances in pineal melatonin production induced by either light exposure or non-visible electromagnetic field exposure at night appear to be the same but whether the underlying mechanisms are similar remains unknown.

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PMID: 

Rev Environ Health. 1994 Jul-Dec;10(3-4):171-86. PMID: 7724876

Abstract Title: 

Melatonin suppression by static and extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields: relationship to the reported increased incidence of cancer.

Abstract: 

An increased cancer incidence has been reported in individuals living and/or working in an environment in which they are exposed to higher than normal artificial electromagnetic fields. One of the most uniform changes associated with the exposure of animals to either pulsed static geomagnetic fields or to sinusoidal extremely low frequency magnetic fields has been a reduction in high night-time levels of melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone produced especially at night in the pineal gland, a pea-sized organ near the center of the human brain. The high nocturnal production of melatonin leads to elevated blood melatonin levels at night as well. The exposure of humans or animals to light (visible electromagnetic radiation) at night rapidly depresses pineal melatonin production and blood melatonin levels. Likewise, the exposure of animals to various pulsed static and extremely low frequency magnetic fields also reduces melatonin levels. Melatonin is a potent oncostatic agent and it prevents both the initiation and promotion of cancer. Reduction of melatonin, at night, by any means, increases cells' vulnerability to alteration by carcinogenic agents. Thus, if in fact artificial electromagnetic field exposure increases the incidence of cancer in humans, a plausible mechanism could involve a reduction in melatonin which is the consequence of such exposures.

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