Abstract

Purpose

Rapid development in mobile phone technologies increase the average mobile phone usage duration. This increase also triggers exposure to radiofrequency radiation (RF), which is a risk factor for the health. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the effect of mobile phone working with LTE-Advanced Pro (4.5 G) mobile network on the optic nerve, which is responsible for the transmission of visual information.

Material and methods

Thirty-two rats divided into two groups as control (no RF, sham exposure) and experimental (RF exposure using a mobile phone with LTE-Advanced Pro network; 2 hours/day, 6 weeks). The visual evoked potential (VEP) was recorded and determined amplitudes and latencies of VEP waves. Optic nerve malondialdehyde level, catalase and superoxide dismutase activities were determined. Furthermore, ultrastructural and morphometric changes of optic nerve were evaluated.

Results

In VEP recordings, the mean VEP amplitudes of experimental group were significantly lower than control group. In ultrastructural evaluation, myelinated nerve fibres and glial cells were observed in normal histologic appearance both in sham and experimental group. However, by performing morphometric analysis, in the experimental group, axonal diameter and myelin thickness were shown to be lower and the G-ratio was higher than in the sham group. In the experimental group, malondialdehyde level was significantly higher and superoxide dismutase and catalase activities were significantly lower than sham group. There was a high correlation between VEP wave amplitudes and oxidative stress markers.

Conclusion

Findings obtained in this study support optic nerve damage. These results point out an important risk that may decrease the quality of life.

中文翻译：

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4.5G（LTE Advanced-Pro网络）手机辐射对视神经的影响

摘要

目的

手机技术的快速发展增加了手机的平均使用时长。这种增加还会引发射频辐射 (RF) 暴露，这是健康的危险因素。在这项研究中，旨在调查使用 LTE-Advanced Pro (4.5 G) 移动网络的手机对负责视觉信息传输的视神经的影响。

材料与方法

32 只大鼠分为两组，作为对照组（无射频，假暴露）和实验组（使用具有 LTE-Advanced Pro 网络的手机进行射频暴露；2 小时/天，6 周）。记录视觉诱发电位 (VEP) 并确定 VEP 波的幅度和潜伏期。测定视神经丙二醛水平、过氧化氢酶和超氧化物歧化酶活性。此外，评估了视神经的超微结构和形态学变化。

结果

在 VEP 记录中，实验组的平均 VEP 幅度显着低于对照组。在超微结构评估中，假手术组和实验组均观察到有髓神经纤维和胶质细胞在正常组织学外观中。然而，通过进行形态测量分析，在实验组中，轴突直径和髓鞘厚度显示出比假手术组更低，G 比更高。与假手术组相比，实验组丙二醛水平显着升高，超氧化物歧化酶和过氧化氢酶活性显着降低。VEP 波幅与氧化应激标志物之间存在高度相关性。

结论

本研究中获得的结果支持视神经损伤。这些结果指出了一个可能降低生活质量的重要风险。