Effects of Aluminum and Extremely Low Frequency Electromagnetic Radiation on Oxidative Stress and Memory in Brain of Mice

Abstract

This study was aimed to investigate the effect of aluminum and extremely low-frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MF) on oxidative stress and memory of SPF Kunming mice. Sixty male SPF Kunming mice were divided randomly into four groups: control group, ELF-MF group (2 mT, 4 h/day), load aluminum group (200 mg aluminum/kg, 0.1 ml/10 g), and ELF-MF + aluminum group (2 mT, 4 h/day, 200 mg aluminum/kg). After 8 weeks of treatment, the mice of three experiment groups (ELF-MF group, load aluminum group, and ELF-MF + aluminum group) exhibited firstly the learning memory impairment, appearing that the escaping latency to the platform was prolonged and percentage in the platform quadrant was reduced in the Morris water maze (MWM) task. Secondly are the pathologic abnormalities including neuronal cell loss and overexpression of phosphorylated tau protein in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex. On the other hand, the markers of oxidative stress were determined in mice brain and serum. The results showed a statistically significant decrease in superoxide dismutase activity and increase in the levels of malondialdehyde in the ELF-MF group (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01), load aluminum group (P < 0.01), and ELF-MF + aluminum group (P < 0.01). However, the treatment with ELF-MF + aluminum induced no more damage than ELF-MF and aluminum did, respectively. In conclusion, both aluminum and ELF-MF could impact on learning memory and pro-oxidative function in Kunming mice. However, there was no evidence of any association between ELF-MF exposure with aluminum loading.

Manmade Electromagnetic Fields and Oxidative Stress—Biological Effects and Consequences for Health

“…The Tau protein is important in neurodegenerative syndromes such as Alzheimer's disease, as it binds to microtubules in cells, regulating their cohesion. ELF-MF exposure caused an increase in ROS and a reduction in the measured antioxidative biomarkers, while the additional administration of aluminum did not promote any further impairment [74]. Structural abnormalities, a reduction in the number of neurons, and changes in the phosphorylated form of Tau at S404 and S396 indicated neurodegenerative effects of subchronic ELF-MF exposure, which was supported by the impairment of learning and memory performance in ELF-MF-exposed animals.…”

Ecological study on the penetration of induction heating cookers and birth outcomes in Japan

“…Al significantly reduced water intake and body weight gain during the study period, possibly due to differences in palatability of the AlCl3 solution. Deng et al (2013) investigated whether memory impairments produced in mice by chronic Al treatment could be modulated by magnetic field exposure. It was found that water maze performance was impaired in Kunming mice that had been treated for 8 weeks with either 50 Hz fields at 2 mT for 4 h/day, 6 days/week, given daily Al loading (200 mg/kg) or given both magnetic fields and Al.…”

The effects of prenatal long-duration exposure to 900-MHz electromagnetic field on the 21-day-old newborn male rat liver

“…An EMF of 940 MHz (15 V/m, specific absorption rate [SAR] = 40 mW/kg) has been reported to lead to conformational changes in DNA structure in the thymus (6). Another study reported an increase in malondialdehyde (MDA), an indicator of oxidative stress, in the brain of mice exposed to low-frequency EMF (7). EMF has also been reported to lead to oxidative injury in testis and kidney tissues (8).…”