Effect of exposure to different doses of cell phone-electromagnetic waves on the hippocampus and testis of adult albino rats: A histological study

Abstract

Introduction: Every new technological product brings certain disadvantages threatening human health. Electromagnetic fields (EMF) emitted from cell phones may exert a detrimental influence on human health and may affect man's cognitive and reproductive systems. Mobile phones are carried mainly near the head during talking and they are also kept in trousers pockets in close distance to testis. Aim: To study the effect of single or multiple exposure to different doses of EMF from mobile phone on the structure of hippocampus and testis in adult albino Wistar rats Materials and Methods: Thirty adult male albino Wistar rats were divided into three equal groups. Group I (control), group II (single mobile exposure giving 900Hz) and group III (multiple mobile exposure giving 2700HZ). Rats were exposed to EMW for 120 minutes/day, 6 days per week for ten weeks. Animals were sacrificed 24 hours after the last exposure. Hippocampus and testis were harvested form all rats. They were subjected to proper histological techniques. Semen analysis, morphometric and statistical studies were also done. Results: In single exposure group, degeneration of some pyramidal and granule cells of the hippocampus were noticed. Vacuolations were also seen between spermatogenic cells with some abnormalities of sperm structure. While in multiple exposure group, apparent increase number of degenerated neurons and significant decrease in thickness of pyramidal and granule layers of hippocampus were noticed. Testis showed intercellular vacuolations, significant decrease in thickness of germinal epithelium and seminiferous tubules and a significant increase in mean area percentage of collagen fibers and caspase-3 reaction. Many sperm abnormalities were also detected in semen analysis. Conclusions: Exposure to EMF causes significant changes in the structure of hippocampus and testis in a dose dependent manner. EJH