Effects of whole-body exposure to 915 MHz RFID on secretory functions of the thyroid system in rats.

As a part of an investigation on the potential risks of radiofrequency identification (RFID) on human health, we studied whether exposure to 915 MHz RFID in rats significantly affected the secretory function of the thyroid system. A reverberation chamber was used as a whole-body exposure system. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed for 8 h per day, 5 days per week, for a duration of 2, 4, 8, or 16 weeks. The estimated whole-body average specific absorption rate (SAR) varied from 3.2 to 4.6 W/kg depending on the age/mass of the animals for the field of the 915 MHz RFID reader. Plasma levels of triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4), and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) were evaluated via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Morphological changes in the thyroid gland were then analyzed. No changes in T3, T4, or TSH were observed over time between the sham- and RFID-exposed groups. We suggest that subchronic exposure to 915 MHz RFID at a SAR of 4 W/kg does not cause significant effects on thyroid secretory function.

[1]  B. Lazetić,et al.  Morphophysiological status of rat thyroid gland after subchronic exposure to low frequency electromagnetic field. , 2001, Medicinski pregled.

[2]  P. Yen,et al.  Physiological and molecular basis of thyroid hormone action. , 2001, Physiological reviews.

[3]  G. Dell’Omo,et al.  Magnetic fields produced by power lines do not affect growth, serum melatonin, leukocytes and fledging success in wild kestrels. , 2009, Comparative biochemistry and physiology. Toxicology & pharmacology : CBP.

[4]  A. Songur,et al.  The effect of the prenatal and post-natal long-term exposure to 50 Hz electric field on growth, pubertal development and IGF-1 levels in female Wistar rats , 2009, Toxicology and industrial health.

[5]  Anthony T Barker,et al.  Effect of 900 MHz Electromagnetic Fields on Nonthermal Induction of Heat-Shock Proteins in Human Leukocytes , 2005, Radiation research.

[6]  P. Rosenberg,et al.  Gender is an Age-Specific Effect Modifier for Papillary Cancers of the Thyroid Gland , 2009, Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention.

[7]  L. Guillette,et al.  Seasonal variation in plasma thyroid hormone concentrations in coastal versus inland populations of juvenile American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis): influence of plasma iodide concentrations. , 2011, General and comparative endocrinology.

[8]  M. Hanmandlu,et al.  Risk of Brain Tumors From Wireless Phone Use , 2010, Journal of computer assisted tomography.

[9]  Jian-hua Zhao,et al.  Pulsed electromagnetic fields stimulation affects BMD and local factor production of rats with disuse osteoporosis , 2009, Bioelectromagnetics.

[10]  P. Davis,et al.  Molecular aspects of thyroid hormone actions. , 2010, Endocrine reviews.

[11]  R. Gallego-Pinazo,et al.  Thyroid hormone deficiency disrupts rat eye neurodevelopment , 2011, Brain Research.

[12]  Verónica J. Berdiñas Torres.  Exposure systems and dosimetry of large-scale in vivo studies , 2007 .

[13]  M. Persinger,et al.  Increases in geomagnetic activity are associated with increases in thyroxine levels in a single patient: implications for melatonin levels. , 1996, The International journal of neuroscience.

[14]  K. Poppe,et al.  Thyroid function and human reproductive health. , 2010, Endocrine reviews.

[15]  J. Bernal.  Thyroid hormone receptors in brain development and function , 2007, Nature Clinical Practice Endocrinology &Metabolism.

[16]  R. de Seze,et al.  GSM radiocellular telephones do not disturb the secretion of antepituitary hormones in humans. , 1998, Bioelectromagnetics.

[17]  D. McRee,et al.  Studies on acute in vivo exposure of rats to 2450-MHz microwave radiation. II. Effects on thyroid and adrenal axes hormones. , 1981, Radiation research.

[18]  R. Nelson,et al.  Influence of light at night on murine anxiety- and depressive-like responses , 2009, Behavioural Brain Research.

[19]  J. Pack,et al.  Development and validation of reverberation-chamber type whole-body exposure system for mobile-phone frequency. , 2008, Electromagnetic biology and medicine.

[20]  Fehmi Ozguner,et al.  No effects of 900 MHz and 1800 MHz electromagnetic field emitted from cellular phone on nocturnal serum melatonin levels in rats , 2005, Toxicology and industrial health.

[21]  T. Glenn,et al.  The Thyroid‐Brain Interaction in Thyroid Disorders and Mood Disorders , 2008, Journal of neuroendocrinology.

[22]  J. Weitzel,et al.  Coordination of mitochondrial biogenesis by thyroid hormone , 2011, Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology.

[23]  Clifton Frilot,et al.  Nonlinear changes in brain electrical activity due to cell phone radiation , 2003, Bioelectromagnetics.

[24]  A. Ahlbom.  Guidelines for limiting exposure to time-varying electric, magnetic, and electromagnetic fields (up to 300 GHz) , 1998 .

[25]  Joe Wiart,et al.  Whole-body new-born and young rats' exposure assessment in a reverberating chamber operating at 2.4 GHz , 2010, Physics in medicine and biology.

[26]  A. Cevik,et al.  Evaluation of hormonal change, biochemical parameters, and histopathological status of uterus in rats exposed to 50-Hz electromagnetic field , 2009, Toxicology and industrial health.

[27]  Rakesh Kumar Sinha,et al.  Chronic non-thermal exposure of modulated 2450 MHz microwave radiation alters thyroid hormones and behavior of male rats , 2008, International journal of radiation biology.

[28]  M. Gunderson,et al.  Seasonal variation in plasma thyroxine concentrations in juvenile alligators (Alligators mississippiensis) from three Florida Lakes. , 2005, Comparative biochemistry and physiology. Part A, Molecular & integrative physiology.

[29]  S. Ozen,et al.  Effects of 900 MHz electromagnetic field on TSH and thyroid hormones in rats. , 2005, Toxicology letters.

[30]  Süleyman Kaplan,et al.  Purkinje cell number decreases in the adult female rat cerebellum following exposure to 900MHz electromagnetic field , 2010, Brain Research.

[31]  Electric and magnetic fields do not modify the biochemical properties of FRTL-5 cells , 2011 .