Eur J Anat, 14 (3): 105-109 (2010)

Morphological changes induced by mobile phone radiation in liver and pancreas in Wistar albino rats

Sultan Ayoub Meo¹, Muhammad Arif², Shahzad Rashied³, Sufia Husain⁴, Muhammad M. Khan³, Abeer A. Al Masri¹, Muhammad S. Vohra³, Adnan M. Usmani⁵, Ashraf Husain¹, Abdul M. Al-Drees¹

Departments of ¹- Physiology, ²- Pharmacology, ³- Anatomy, ⁴- Pathology, ⁵- Strategic Center for Diabetes Research, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

ABSTRACT Mobile phones are excessively used by the public in almost all the regions of the world. The aim of the present study was to determine the morphological changes induced by mobile phone radiation in the liver and pancreas in Wistar albino rats. A total of 40 male, Wistar albino rats were assigned for the study. The first group served as a control (n=8); the second group (Group B, n=16) was exposed to mobile phone radiation for 30 minutes, and the third group (Group C, n=16) was exposed to mobile phone radiation for 60 minutes daily for a total period of three months. Detailed morphological changes induced by mobile phone radiation were observed under light microscopy. Exposure to mobile phone radiation for 30 min/day caused inflammation of the liver in 18.75% of the animals (Group B). However, when the duration of exposure was increased to 60 min/day, we found inflammation in the liver in 43.75% and in pancreas in 31.25% of albino rats compared to their matched controls. It is concluded that longterm exposure to mobile phone radiation can cause inflammation in the liver and pancreas of albino rats. Based on this animal model study, such effects are also expected in humans, and it is therefore suggested that, long term and/or unnecessary excessive use of mobile phones should be avoided.

Keywords: Mobile phone radiation, Albino rats, Liver, Pancreas