This is a significant publication.
From http://anhinternational.org – Excessive exposure to Electromagnetic Field sources causes pain:
A study has recently been published that provides the first evidence of a link between radio signals and nerve pain in people with amputated limbs. The senior author of the study, Dr Mario Romero-Ortega, said, “Our study provides evidence, for the first time, that subjects exposed to cellphone towers at low, regular levels can actually perceive pain”. The rats involved in the study received a nerve injury to simulate an amputation before being exposed to EMF signals equivalent to standing near a phone mast around 40 meters away for 10 minutes once a week for eight weeks. After just four weeks this short exposure time was enough to cause 88% of the rats to show a definite pain response to the signal. This study adds to the very real concerns associated with an excessive exposure to Electromagnetic Field sources, including electro-hypersensitivity, which has now been recognised as a functional disorder.
Study: Anthropogenic Radio-Frequency Electromagnetic Fields Elicit Neuropathic Pain in an Amputation Model
ABSTRACT
Anecdotal and clinical reports have suggested that radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (RF EMFs) may serve as a trigger for neuropathic pain. However, these reports have been widely disregarded, as the epidemiological effects of electromagnetic fields have not been systematically proven, and are highly controversial. Here, we demonstrate that anthropogenic RF EMFs elicit post-neurotomy pain in a tibial neuroma transposition model. Behavioral assays indicate a persistent and significant pain response to RF EMFs when compared to SHAM surgery groups. Laser thermometry revealed a transient skin temperature increase during stimulation. Furthermore, immunofluorescence revealed an increased expression of temperature sensitive cation channels (TRPV4) in the neuroma bulb, suggesting that RF EMF-induced pain may be due to cytokine-mediated channel dysregulation and hypersensitization, leading to thermal allodynia. Additional behavioral assays were performed using an infrared heating lamp in place of the RF stimulus. While thermally-induced pain responses were observed, the response frequency and progression did not recapitulate the RF EMF effects. In vitro calcium imaging experiments demonstrated that our RF EMF stimulus is sufficient to directly contribute to the depolarization of dissociated sensory neurons. Furthermore, the perfusion of inflammatory cytokine TNF-α resulted in a significantly higher percentage of active sensory neurons during RF EMF stimulation. These results substantiate patient reports of RF EMF-pain, in the case of peripheral nerve injury, while confirming the public and scientific consensus that anthropogenic RF EMFs engender no adverse sensory effects in the general population.
INTRODUCTION
Anthropogenic electromagnetic fields (EMFs) have become a ubiquitous presence in modern life. A broad spectral band of EMF frequencies (50 Hz–5 GHz) are now passing around us and through us, and are generated by sources ranging from electricity transport to mobile communication devices. While we have all undoubtedly benefited from the wide-ranging applications of commercial electronics, there is a growing social and scientific concern that persistent exposure to radio- and microwave-frequency (RF/MWF) EMFs may engender unforeseen adverse health effects in vulnerable subsets of our population.
Over the past thirty years, there have been numerous reports published on the epidemiological, animal, and cellular-level effects of RF EMF exposure [1–3], with the majority of these studies being conducted in vitro and focused on evaluating the potential relationship between cell phone usage and the incidence of certain types of cancer [4–6]. Many conclusions drawn from this field of study remain highly controversial [7,8], but sufficient evidence regarding EMF-tissue interactions has resulted in the adoption of national and international standards for health and occupational EMF exposure. More recently, there have also been anecdotal, case, and clinical reports that magnetic and electromagnetic fields of various frequencies may serve as a trigger for neuropathic and post-amputation pain [9–11].
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