A Good Mix: Cell-Phone Radiation and Memory

A new set of researches seems to suggest that exposure to radiation emitted by cell phones may have a beneficial effect on memory. In the case of mice, the research group behind the new study says, it would even appear that exposure to this radiation generates a protective effect against Alzheimer's disease. In some instances, the condition is even reversed, the group reports, quoted by LiveScience.

The same study also showed that mice without Alzheimer's tended to experience a boost in brain activity, after being exposed to cell phone-generated radiation. “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,” Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Center researcher Gary Arendash said in an official statement. He is also the lead author of the new study, which is published in the January 6 issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

One of the strongest effects that radiation had was directed against beta-amyloid, one of the proteins deemed responsible for the onset and development of the terrible mental disorder. The stuff agglomerates in clumps called plaques, which are a clear indicator that someone is suffering from the condition. It would appear that the electromagnetic waves usually generated by mobile-communication devices tend to erase these clumps altogether, even in mice that have been genetically engineered to develop Alzheimer's. The team admits that more research is needed on the issue, but says that, if the results do translate to humans, we could be looking at a new method of fighting the disease.

“Since we selected electromagnetic parameters that were identical to human cell phone use and tested mice in a task closely analogous to a human memory test, we believe our findings could have considerable relevance to humans,” Arendash explains. He and his team are currently working on isolating the frequencies and intensities that would make the electromagnetic radiation more apt at causing cognitive benefits in the unsuspecting rodents. They are funded in their work by the National Institute on Aging, and the USF Health Byrd Alzheimer's Institute.