Effects of cellular phone emissions on sperm motility in rats.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of cellular phone emissions on rat sperm cells. DESIGN Classic experimental. SETTING Animal research laboratory. SUBJECTS Sixteen 3-month-old male Sprague-Dawley rats, weighing 250-300 g. INTERVENTION(S) Rats in the experimental group were exposed to two 3-hour periods of daily cellular phone emissions for 18 weeks; sperm samples were then collected for evaluation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) Evaluation of sperm motility, sperm cell morphology, total sperm cell number, and mRNA levels for two cell surface adhesion proteins. RESULT(S) Rats exposed to 6 hours of daily cellular phone emissions for 18 weeks exhibited a significantly higher incidence of sperm cell death than control group rats through chi-squared analysis. In addition, abnormal clumping of sperm cells was present in rats exposed to cellular phone emissions and was not present in control group rats. CONCLUSION(S) These results suggest that carrying cell phones near reproductive organs could negatively affect male fertility.

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