Effects of Microwave Exposure on Functional Maturation of the Rat.

摘要

To investigate whether exposing developing rats to microwaves may influence functional maturation, pregnant rats were exposed for 1 hour to 2450 MHz continuous wave (CW), 10 mW/sq cm at 9 or 16 days of gestation or at 40 mW/sq cm on the 9th, 13th, 16th or 20th days of gestation. After birth, the offspring were studied for functional development through the 21-day nursing period. In another study, neonatal rats were exposed to 40 mW/sq cm, 2450 MHz, CW microwaves for 5 min/day from day 1 to day 6; on postnatal day 7, the rats were either sacrificed, exposed to 2450 MHz CW for a 7th time, or injected with ACTH. Among animals exposed in-utero, there was no difference in litter sizes between exposed or control animals. Metabolic response to cold exposure was greater among offspring of exposed rats at the age of 0-2 days than among the sham exposed animals. The offspring from the 40 mW/sq cm exposed rats showed a significantly higher corticosterone level than sham-exposed controls during the first 24 hours of life. Brain and adrenal weight in offspring from dams exposed to 40 mW/sq cm at 13 or 20 days of gestation was not different from sham-exposed or control counterparts. A statistically significant increase in adrenal wet weight was noted in animals exposed to microwaves on the first 6 postnatal days. Adrenal wet weight and adrenal-to-body weight ratios in 7-day old rats were significantly higher in microwave exposed animals in comparison to controls. Following either microwave exposure or ACTH injection on day 7, plasma corticosterone levels remained low in both exposed and control animals but was significantly increased in microwave exposed over control animals.