Abstract

Background: Some epidemiological and laboratory studies suggest a possible connection between extremely low-frequency (ELF) magnetic fi elds and certain illnesses, such as cancer, immune suppression, as well as reproductive toxic effects and abnormalities. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of ELF magnetic fi elds (1.35 mT) on sperm count, malondialdehyde concentration, the histology of such organs as the testes, brain, liver, and kidney tissues, p53 immunoreactivity
of bone marrow, and the serum concentrations of Cu[sup]2+[/sup], Zn[sup]2+[/sup], Mn[sup]2+[/sup], and Fe[sup]3+[/sup] in rats.
Material/Methods: Sixteen Sprague-Dawley male rats were divided into two groups. The rats in the experimental group were exposed to an ELF magnetic fi eld 2 hr/day for 2 months (7 days a week). The rats in the control
group were not exposed to the ELF magnetic fi eld. The exposure was performed in a Faraday cage (130×65×80 cm) with grounded shielding against the electric component. The Mann-Whitney U-test was used for the statistical analysis of the data.
Results: Magnetic fi eld measurements showed that, under the experimental conditions, the magnetic fi eldexposure system produced a stable fl ux density of 1.35±0.018 mT and a stable frequency of 50 Hz, with negligible harmonics and no transients. However, no statistically signifi cant alteration was observed in the parameters measured in this study except in Mn[sup]2+[/sup] concentrations (p
Conclusions: The present study found no evidence of an adverse effect of ELF magnetic fi elds on the measured parameters except for signifi cantly increased Mn[sup]2+[/sup] concentrations (p

Keywords: Electromagnetic Fields, Copper - blood, Gene Expression Regulation, Iron - blood, Lipid Peroxidation - radiation effects, Malondialdehyde - metabolism, Manganese - blood, Sperm Count, Tissue Distribution, Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 - biosynthesis, Zinc - blood