Journals / Türk Üroloji Dergisi/Turkish Journal of Urology / 2006 / Cilt: 32 - Sayı: 3
Is there an early effect of mobile phone usage on testis histopathology? An experimental study
- Pages
- 327–331
- DOI
- —
Abstract
Introduction: There has been a significant increase in the use of mobile phones during the past decade. However the development of this technology produced serious concerns about the effects of electromagnetic waves (EMW) emitted from cellular phones on different health aspects. It will not be a fault to say that the testes are more inclined to absorb EMW than other internal organs because of carrying mobile phones frequently in belts. As a result of these concerns, we aimed to investigate the effects of electromagnetic waves (EMW) emitted from cellular phones on testis histopathology. Materials and Methods: After obtaining the approval of the local ethics committee, twelve Wistar rats (weighing between 200-250g) were included. The rats were randomly divided into two groups of six, control and study groups and were confined in cages specially designed for this study. The animals were kept in an environment of controlled temperature (24°C), humidity (45%) and controlled photoperiod (12h/12h of light and dark) with free access to food and water. In study group, cellular phone (Motorola ™ V300, USA) was placed under the cage and activated 24h per day for two months and in control group the same phone was placed under the cage in deactivated mode. In study group, the phone was in speech mode for 30 minutes per day for two months. Speech mode means the phone is turned on while ringing from an other phone. For the phones used in this study, the frequency was 900 MHz. At the end of the second month, all rats were sacrificed with decapitation method and testes were taken for histopathological examination under a light microscope. The mean seminiferous tubular diameter was measured for each rat and the testis tissues were examined histopathologically by using Johnson testicular biopsy score count. Results: There was no difference between rats in study and control groups according to testis histopathology. The mean seminiferous tubular diameter was 294.16±6.6 µm (range from 285 to 300 µm) for the testes of rats in study group and it was 287.5±4.18 µm (range from 280 to 290 µm) for the testes of rats in control group. When we compared two groups according to Johnson scoring, testicular biopsy score count, the mean score was found 8.33±0.51 for the rats in study group and it was 8.83±0.40 for the rats in control group. There was no statistically significant difference according to these two parameters between two groups (p>0.05). Conclusion: Testicular sizes of rats are small. They have non-pendulous scrotal structures and their testes can migrate between scrotum and abdomen. Therefore, rat model is not known whether it is appropriate for such studies. Additionally, as we evaluated the effects of EMWs on testicular histopathology, the best method for this purpose should be the direct examination of reproductive biology after the copulation of rats. However, against these limitations, we observed that the EMWs emitted from cellular phones had no effect on histopathology of rat testis in early period.
Özet
Bu çalışmamızda cep telefonundan yayılan elektromanyetik dalgaların (EMD) testisler üzerine olan histopatolojik etkilerini araştırmayı amaçladık. Çalışmaya 12 adet Wistar sıçan (200-250gr) alındı. Sıçanlar altı adedi bir grup olmak üzere kontrol ve çalışma grubu olarak iki gruba ayrıldı. Her bir grup özel hazırlanmış kafeslere yerleştirildi. Çalışma grubunda kafeslerin altına günde 24 saat aktif konumda cep telefonu (Motorola™ V300, USA) yerleştirilirken kontrol grubundaki sıçanların kafeslerinin altına ise aynı cep telefonu kapalı konumda yerleştirildi. Çalışma grubundaki telefon 2 ay boyunca günde 30 dakika görüşme modunda tutuldu. İkinci ayın sonunda tüm sıçanlar dekapitasyon yöntemi ile sakrifiye edilerek testisler ışık mikroskobu altında histopatolojik inceleme için çıkarıldı. Testislerde ortalama seminifer tübül çapları ölçüldü ve dokuların histopatolojik değerlendirilmesi için Johnson testis biyopsi skorlama yöntemi kullanıldı. Çalışma ve kontrol grubundaki sıçan testis dokuları arasında histopatolojik yönden anlamlı bir fark izlenmedi. Çalışma grubundaki testislerin ortalama seminifer tübül çapı 294,16±6,6 µm (285-300 µm arası) iken kontrol grubunda ortalama 287,5±4,18 µm (280-290 µm arası) olarak ölçüldü (p>0.05). İki grup Johnson skorlaması ile karşılaştırıldığında çalışma grubundaki sıçanların ortalama skoru 8.33±0.51 iken kontrol grubunda bu değer 8.83±0.40 olarak ölçüldü (p>0.05). Cep telefonlarından yayılan EMD'nin, sıçanlarda testis histopatolojisi üzerine erken dönemde etkisinin olmadığını gözledik.