NIH experts cast doubt on rat study linking cellphones, tumours
Experts at the U.S. National Institutes of Health are questioning the validity of a widely reported study in rats that linked cellphone radiation to tumors.
The study, released Friday by the federal governments National Toxicology Program (NTP), found low incidences of two types of tumors in male rats exposed to the type of radio frequencies emitted by cellphones, the Wall Street Journal reported. The two types of tumors were glioma brain cancer and benign schwannomas of the heart, according to the $25 million study that is one of the largest and most comprehensive to assess the health impacts of cellphones.
Given the widespread global usage of mobile communications among users of all ages, even a very small increase in the incidence of disease resulting from exposure to [radio-frequency radiation] could have broad implications for public health, according to an NTP summary of partial findings from the study released late Thursday, the WSJ reported.
However, NIH experts were quick to highlight flaws in the study, according to the Associated Press. For example, they pointed out that the study exposed rats to very high levels of cellphone radiation, beginning in the womb and then through the first two years of the rats life. Even then, only 2 percent to 3 percent of male rats -- and no females -- developed a tumor.
The fact that none of the female rats developed a tumor is odd, the NIH experts said, as is the fact that rats who did not get exposed to the radiation died at higher rates than those who did get exposed.
HealthDay
