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Arendash GW, Sanchez-Ramos J, Mori T, et al. Electromagnetic field treatment protects against and reverses cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease mice. J Alzheimers Dis. 2010;19:191-210.

  
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A groundbreaking, yet somewhat controversial study concerning the effects of cell phone radiation on cognitive function in mice with Alzheimer's disease was published in the January 2010 issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

 

In this study, researchers took both transgenic and normal type littermates and exposed them to the same type and amount of electromagnetic radiation produced by cell phones for 1 hour, twice a day, for 7 to 9 months. A radial-arm water maze was used to generate a test that was functionally equivalent to those used in humans to measure cognitive function. The same tests were conducted on a control group of both transgenic and normal type mice that were not exposed to the radiation. The tests were conducted on adolescent mice that had not yet shown signs of impairment, and on older mice that had started to show signs of cognitive impairment.

 

In the transgenic mice, the long-term exposure to the radiation not only slowed the progression of the disease, but actually appeared to reverse it. Additionally, the radiation seemed to improve the cognitive abilities of the normal type mice, compared to the controls.

 

These results came as a pleasant surprise to the researchers, however, others remain cautious. This science is still in its earliest stages, and much more research needs to be conducted and repeated to confirm these findings. Some experts point out that these findings are on mice, not on humans, and that numerous secondary factors could have contributed to the results.