New Study: Cell Phone Radiation Increases Brain Glucose Activity
A recent study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) showed that less than an hour of cell phone radiation affected glucose metabolism in the areas of the brain that received the most exposure. Glucose is the main fuel of the brain and this research, headed by the chief of the National Institute of Drug Abuse Dr. Nora Volkow, gave another indication of how cell phones can affect brain function.
Why is This a Health Concern? Experts Weigh in
Ronald B. Herberman, M.D, renowed cancer biologist/physician and board chair of Environmental Health Trust (EHT) offers this research as another reason for using precautions when using cell phones. “This stunning report indicates that even short-term exposure to nerve cells from cell phones can increase glucose in the brain,” said Dr. Herberman. “We know that increased glucose also occurs with infections and other inflammatory processes, and leads to the production of potentially damaging reactive oxygen radicals that can alter the ways that cells and genes work.”
This concern is shared by Lloyd Morgan, the EHT’s Senior Science Advisor: “The areas of the brain that had increased glucose in the JAMA study are involved in thinking, sensing and decision making, including repression of antisocial behavior.” Morgan explained that anything that disturbs the natural metabolism of such critical areas in the brain is a cause for worry.
Another EHT official, scientific adviser Richard A. Stein, M.D., Ph.D., added: “As glucose is the sole energy source in the brain under normal dietary conditions, and there is an absolute requirement for glucose during synaptic transmission in the nervous system, the results of the current study emerge as even more significant.”
