Mobile phone waves may protect against Alzheimer’s, shows study

CHATTING on a mobile phone may protect against Alzheimer’s and even reverse the disease, new research suggests.

Scientists found that mice with Alzheimer’s were effectively cured after being exposed to the electromagnetic waves produced by mobile phones.

Sticky brain deposits of a harmful protein linked to the disease were erased, and the animals’ thinking ability and memory returned to normal levels.

The study involved 96 mice, most of which were genetically engineered to develop the beta-amyloid protein deposits and typical symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.

Most Alzheimer’s treatments target beta-amyloid plaques.

For the experiment, scientists placed the animals in cages arranged around a centrally located antenna generating the phone signal.

If exposure began when the Alzheimer’s-prone mice were young adults – prior to any signs of memory impairment – their mental abilities were protected.

The mice continued to perform as well on tests measuring memory and thinking skills as animals without dementia.

Older Alzheimer’s mice already affected by the disease lost their memory impairment.

Months of mobile phone signal exposure even gave the memories of normal mice an extra boost.

Translated to humans, the tests suggest that it would take years for constant use of mobile phones to have a similar effect.

But the US researchers believe exposure to mobile phone-type electromagnetic radiation could be an effective drug-free way to prevent and treat Alzheimer’s disease in humans.

Professor Gary Arendash, from the University of South Florida’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, who led the study published yesterday in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, said: “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.

“It was even more astonishing that the electromagnetic waves generated by cell phones actually reversed memory impairment in old Alzheimer’s mice.”

The scientists are now investigating whether different sets of electromagnetic frequencies and strengths produce more rapid and greater benefits.

The scientists found no evidence of abnormal growths or tumours in the brains of the mice, suggesting there is no substance to fears of a cancer risk from mobile phones.