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Studies of the effects of power-frequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs) on the immune and other body systems produced positive and negative results, and this pattern was usually interpreted to indicate the absence of real effects. However, if the biological effects of EMFs were governed by nonlinear laws, deterministic responses to fields could occur that were both real and inconsistent, thereby leading to both types of results. The hypothesis of real inconsistent effects due to EMFs was tested by exposing mice to 1 G, 60 Hz for 1-105 days and observing the effect on 20 immune parameters, using flow cytometry and functional assays. The data were evaluated by means of a novel statistical procedure that avoided averaging away oppositely directed changes in different animals, which we perceived to be the problem in some of the earlier EMF studies. The reliability of the procedure was shown using appropriate controls. In three independent experiments involving exposure for 21 or more days, the field altered lymphoid phenotype even though the changes in individual immune parameters were inconsistent. When the data were evaluated using traditional linear statistical methods, no significant difference in any immune parameter was found. We were able to mimic the results by sampling from known chaotic systems, suggesting that deterministic chaos could explain the effect of fields on the immune system. We conclude that exposure to power-frequency fields produced changes in the immune system that were both real and inconsistent.

The effect of intrauterine exposure to ethanol on lymphocyte development in the neonatal period was studied in C57BI/6J mice. Mice were bred, and then the female mice were assigned to 1 of 3 diet groups, 25% ethanol-derived calories (EDC), pair-fed control, or ad libitum laboratory chow. At birth, all offspring were cross-fostered to surrogate mothers who had been fed laboratory chow. At weekly intervals, the neonatal mice were weighed, and 4 mice from each group were used to assess the development of splenic lymphocytes. The total number of splenocytes was similar in all three groups at each sampling. The number of T-cells, B-cells, and natural killer (NK) cells was measured by flow cytometry. T-cells and NK cells did not vary significantly among the three diet groups. However, the total number of B-cells was decreased for the first 3 weeks of life in the ethanol-exposed animals. The function of the T-cells and B-cells was determined by assessing the response to lipopolysaccharide, pokeweed mitogen, phytohemagglutinin, and concanavalin A. The response to all four mitogens was significantly reduced in the ethanol-exposed animals and did not recover to control levels until 4-5 weeks of life. Ethanol exposure had no significant effect on the kinetics of acquisition of NK lytic function, as assessed by determining the killing of chromium-51 labeled YAC-1 tumor target cells. These data show that prenatal exposure to ethanol causes a transient immunodeficiency in some, but not all compartments of the immune system.