Mobiles boost brain - scientists
Thursday January 7th, 2010
Mobile phones may boost memory and help stave off Alzheimer's disease, according to controversial findings announced today.
Researchers said they had evidence that the electromagnetic radiation from phones might be beneficial for the brain.
The findings fly in the face of unproved fears that mobile phones - known as cell phones in the USA - might trigger brain diseases.
The findings come from research on laboratory mice and were financed by the US National Institute on Aging.
The
research showed that mobile phone radiation reversed the brain damage
of Alzheimer's disease in animals genetically bred to contract the disease.
The research also showed improved memory in healthy mice, according to the report in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.
The study, at the University of South Florida, USA, found that the phone radiation slightly increased the brain temperature. The researchers say this may have boosted brain activity - rather than causing damage as has been feared.
Researcher Professor Gary Arendash said: "It surprised us to find that cell phone exposure, begun in early adulthood, protects the memory of mice otherwise destined to develop Alzheimer's symptoms.
"It was even more astonishing that the electromagnetic waves generated by cell phones actually reversed memory impairment in old Alzheimer's mice."
The researchers say they now hope to develop treatments based on electro-magnetic radiation to treat Alzheimer's disease.
* A second study last night warned that people with diabetes face an increased risk of developing dementia. Researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry, London, found a three times increased risk for elderly people showing symptoms of memory loss.
The findings are reported in the British Journal of Psychiatry.
* Another study, reported in Science Translational Medicine, suggests a cocktail of drugs might help treat Alzheimer's disease.
US researchers said mixing drugs in low doses helped reduce the hazardous side-effects of new therapies.
* Another study last night suggests a new kind of brain scan can improve diagnosis of the disease. Writing in the journal Neurology, Italian say diffusion tensor imaging improves detection of brain changes.
Researcher Dr Giovanni Carlesimo, of Tor Vergata University, Rome, Italy, said: "Our findings show this type of brain scan appears to be a better way to measure how healthy the brain is in people who are experiencing memory loss."
Electromagnetic Field Treatment Protects Against and Reverses Cognitive Impairment in Alzheimer's Disease Mice. Gary W. Arendash, Juan Sanchez-Ramos, Takashi Mori, Malgorzata Mamcarz, Xiaoyang Lin, Melissa Runfeldt, Li Want, Guixin Zhang, Vasyl Sava, Juan Tan and Chuanhai Cao. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, Volume 19:1 (January 2010).
British Journal of Psychiatry, 196:36-40
Tags: Brain & Neurology | Geriatric Health | North America
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