Mechanism of interaction between electromagnetic fields and living organisms

Based on nonlinear phenomena of biophoton emission observed in the past, an interference model concerning with the mechanism of interaction between living organisms and electromagnetic fields was raised. Caused by biological nonlinearly polarizable double layer, destructive interference of incoming and reflected waves establishes in the outside. As a consequence, in the inside constructive interference takes place at the same time. The interference patterns may play an important role in biological self organization and in biological functions. We investigate the boundary conditions necessary for explaining these non-linear optical effects in terms of the phase conjugation. It turns out that there are solutions of the Maxwell equations which satisfy destructive interference of biophotons in agreement with the experimental results. Necessary provisions are nonlinearly polarizable optically active double layers of distances which are small compared to the wavelength of light. In addition, they have to be able to move into the nodal planes of the impinging waves within a small time interval compared to the coherence time. These conditions are likely fulfilled in the optically dense, but ordered and optically excited, highly polarizable living matter.     

Mechanism of interaction between electromagnetic fields and living organisms

Based on nonlinear phenomena of biophoton emission observed in the past, an interference model concerning with the mechanism of interaction between living organisms and electromagnetic fields was raised. Caused by biological nonlinearly polarizable double layer, destructive interference of incoming and reflected waves establishes in the outside. As a consequence, in the inside constructive interference takes place at the same time. The interference patterns may play an important role in biological self organization and in biological functions. We investigate the boundary conditions necessary for explaining these non-linear optical effects in terms of the phase conjugation. It turns out that there are solutions of the Maxwell equations which satisfy destructive interference of biophotons in agreement with the experimental results. Necessary provisions are nonlinearly polarizable optically active double layers of distances which are small compared to the wavelength of light. In addition, they have to be a     

Effects of electromagnetic fields on osteoporosis: A systematic literature review

ABSTRACT

Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) as a safe, effective and noninvasive treatment have been researched and used for many years in orthopedics, and the common use clinically is to promote fracture healing. The effects of EMFs on osteoporosis have not been well concerned. The balance between osteoblast and osteoclast activity as well as the balance between osteogenic differentiation and adipogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells plays an important role in the process of osteoporosis. A number of recent reports suggest that EMFs have a positive impact on the balances. In this review, we discuss the recent advances of EMFs in the treatment of osteoporosis from basic research to clinical study and introduce the possible mechanism. In addition, we presented future perspectives of application of EMFs for osteoporosis.     

Electromagnetic homeostasis and the role of low-amplitude electromagnetic fields on life organization

The appearance of endogenous electromagnetic fields in biological systems is a widely debated issue in modern science. The electrophysiological fields have very tiny intensities and it can be inferred that they are rapidly decreasing with the distance from the generating structure, vanishing at very short distances. This makes very hard their detection using standard experimental methods. However, the existence of fast-moving charged particles in the macromolecules inside both intracellular and extracellular fluids may envisage the generation of localized electric currents as well as the presence of closed loops, which implies the existence of magnetic fields. Moreover, the whole set of oscillatory frequencies of various substances, enzymes, cell membranes, nucleic acids, bioelectrical phenomena generated by the electrical rhythm of coherent groups of cells, cell-to-cell communication among population of host bacteria, forms the increasingly complex hierarchies of electromagnetic signals of different frequencies which cover the living being and represent a fundamental information network controlling the cell metabolism. From this approach emerges the concept of electromagnetic homeostasis: that is, the capability of the human body to maintain the balance of highly complex electromagnetic interactions within, in spite of the external electromagnetic noisy environment. This concept may have an important impact on the actual definitions of heal and disease.     

Molecular change signal-to-noise criteria for interpreting experiments involving exposure of biological systems to weakly interacting electromagnetic fields

We describe an approach to aiding the design and interpretation of experiments involving biological effects of weakly interacting electromagnetic fields that range from steady (dc) to microwave frequencies. We propose that if known biophysical mechanisms cannot account for an inferred, underlying molecular change signal-to-noise ratio, (S/N)gen, of a observed result, then there are two interpretation choices: (1) there is an unknown biophysical mechanism with stronger coupling between the field exposure and the ongoing biochemical process, or (2) the experiment is responding to something other than the field exposure. Our approach is based on classical detection theory, the recognition that weakly interacting fields cannot break chemical bonds, and the consequence that such fields can only alter rates of ongoing, metabolically driven biochemical reactions, and transport processes. The approach includes both fundamental chemical noise (molecular shot noise) and other sources of competing chemical change, to be compared quantitatively to the field induced change for the basic case that the field alters a single step in a biochemical network. Consistent with pharmacology and toxicology, we estimate the molecular dose (mass associated with field induced molecular change per mass tissue) resulting from illustrative low frequency field exposures for the biophysical mechanism of voltage gated channels. For perspective, we then consider electric field-mediated delivery of small molecules across human skin and into individual cells. Specifically, we consider the examples of iontophoretic and electroporative delivery of fentanyl through skin and electroporative delivery of bleomycin into individual cells. The total delivered amount corresponds to a molecular change signal and the delivery variability corresponds to generalized chemical noise. Viewed broadly, biological effects due to nonionizing fields may include animal navigation, medical applications, and environmental hazards. Understanding necessary conditions for such effects can be based on a unified approach: quantitative comparison of the estimated chemical change due to a particular electromagnetic field exposure to that due to competing influences, with both estimates based on a biophysical mechanism model within the context of a model of a biological system.     

ELF magnetic fields: animal studies, mechanisms of action

Animal studies can contribute to addressing the issue of possible greater health risk for children exposed to 50–60 Hz extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic fields (MFs), mostly in terms of teratological effects and cancer.Teratology has been extensively studied in animals exposed to ELF MFs but experiments have not established adverse developmental effects.Childhood leukaemia has been the only cancer consistently reported in epidemiological studies as associated with exposure to ELF MFs. This association has been the basis for the classification as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer in 2002. Animal experiments have provided only limited support for these epidemiological findings. However, none but one study used an animal model for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), the main form of childhood leukaemia, and exposures to ELF MFs were not carried out over the whole pregnancy period, when the first hit of ALL is assumed to occur.Moreover, there are no generally accepted biophysical mechanisms that could explain carcinogenic effects of low-level MFs. The radical pair mechanism and related cryptochromes (CRY) molecules have recently been identified in birds and other non-mammalian species, as a sensor of the geomagnetic field, involved in navigation. The hypothesis has to be tested in mammalian models. CRY, which is part of the molecular circadian clock machinery, is a ubiquitous protein likely to be involved in cancer cell growth and DNA repair.In summary, we now have some clues to test for a better characterization of the interaction between ALL and ELF MFs exposure.     

Low-level exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields: Health effects and research needs

The World Health Organization (WHO), the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), and the German and Austrian Governments jointly sponsored an international seminar in November of 1996 on the biological effects of low-level radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields. For purposes of this seminar, RF fields having frequencies only in the range of about 10 MHz to 300 GHz were considered. This is one of a series of scientific review seminars held under the International Electromagnetic Field (EMF) Project to identify any health hazards from EMF exposure. The scientific literature was reviewed during the seminar and expert working groups formed to provide a status report on possible health effects from exposure to low-level RF fields and identify gaps in knowledge requiring more research to improve health risk assessments. It was concluded that, although hazards from exposure to high-level (thermal) RF fields were established, no known health hazards were associated with exposure to RF sources emitting fields too low to cause a significant temperature rise in tissue. Biological effects from low-level RF exposure were identified needing replication and further study. These included in vitro studies of cell kinetics and proliferation effects, effects on genes, signal transduction effects and alterations in membrane structure and function, and biophysical and biochemical mechanisms for RF field effects. In vivo studies should focus on the potential for cancer promotion, co-promotion and progression, as well as possible synergistic, genotoxic, immunological, and carcinogenic effects associated with chronic low-level RF exposure. Research is needed to determine whether low-level RF exposure causes DNA damage or influences central nervous system function, melatonin synthesis, permeability of the blood brain barrier (BBB), or reaction to neurotropic drugs. Reported RF-induced changes to eye structure and function should also be investigated. Epidemiological studies should investigate: the use of mobile telephones with hand-held antennae and incidence of various cancers; reports of headache, sleep disturbance, and other subjective effects that may arise from proximity to RF emitters, and laboratory studies should be conducted on people reporting these effects; cohorts with high occupational RF exposure for changes in cancer incidence; adverse pregnancy outcomes in various highly RF exposed occupational groups; and ocular pathologies in mobile telephone users and in highly RF exposed occupational groups. Studies of populations with residential exposure from point sources, such as broadcasting transmitters or mobile telephone base stations have caused widespread health concerns among the public, even though RF exposures are very low. Recent studies that may indicate an increased incidence of cancer in exposed populations should be investigated further. Bioelectromagnetics 19:1–19, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMFs) induce in vitro angiogenesis process in human endothelial cells

Effects of extremely low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic fields (EMFs) on activation of angiogenesis were analysed using cultured umbilical human vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). The cultures were exposed to a sinusoidal EMF to intensity of 1 mT, 50 Hz for up to 12 h. EMFs increased the degree of endothelial cell proliferation and tubule formation, coupled by an acceleration in the process of wound healing. Since this process is physiologically accompanied by a large modification in the structural organization of actin and focal adhesions, we analyzed the rearrangement of some cytoskeleton elements demonstrating a major reorganization of the fibres and of the focal adhesion complexes after EMF exposure. Finally, Western blot analysis revealed a significant increase in phosphorylation as well as the overall expression of VEGF receptor 2 (KDR/Flk-1) suggesting that EMFs may modulate in vitro some endothelial functions correlated to angiogenesis through signal transduction pathways dependent on VEGF.     

Mechanism of action of moderate-intensity static magnetic fields on biological systems

There is substantial evidence indicating that moderate-intensity static magnetic fields (SMF) are capable of influencing a number of biological systems, particularly those whose function is closely linked to the properties of membrane channels. Most of the reported moderate SMF effects may be explained on the basis of alterations in membrane calcium ion flux. The mechanism suggested to explain these effects is based on the diamagnetic anisitropic properties of membrane phospholipids. It is proposed that reorientation of these molecules during moderate SMF exposure will result in the deformation of imbedded ion channels, thereby altering their activation kinetics. Channel inactivation would not be expected to be influenced by these fields because this mechanism is not located within the intramembraneous portion of the channel. Patch-clamp studies of calcium channels have provided support for this hypothesis, as well as demonstrating a temperature dependency that is understandable on the basis of the membrane thermotropic phase transition. Additional studies have demonstrated that sodium channels are similarly affected by SMFs, although to a lesser degree. These findings support the view that moderate SMF effects on biological membranes represent a general phenomenon, with some channels being more susceptible than others to membrane deformation.     

Effects of extremely-law-frequency electromagnetic fields on ion transport in several mammalian cells

We have investigated the effects of sinusoidal electromagnetic fields (EMF) on ion transport (Ca²⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, and H⁺) in several cell types (red blood cells, thymocytes, Ehrlich ascites tumor cells, and HL60 and U937 human leukemia cells). The effects on the uptake of radioactive tracers as well as on the cytosolic Ca²⁺ concentration ([Ca²⁺]_i), the intracellular pH (pH_i), and the transmembrane potentsial (TMP) were studied. Exposure to EMF at 50 Hz and 100–2000 μT (rms) had no significant effects on any of these parameters. Exposure to EMF of 20–1200 μT (rms) at the estimated cyclotron magnetic resonance frequencies for the respective ions had no significant effects except for a 12–32% increase of the uptake of ⁴²K within a window at 14.5–15.5 Hz and 100–200 μT (rms), which was found in U937 and Ehrlich cells but not in the other cell types. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Effects of extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields on membrane-associated enzymes

The effects of extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields of 75 Hz were studied on different membrane-associated enzymes. Only the activities of three enzymes out of seven exposed to the field decreased approximately of about 54-61% with field amplitudes above a threshold of 73-151 microT depending on the enzyme. The same field had no effect on the activities of either integral membrane enzymes such as Ca,ATPase, Na/K,ATPase, and succinic dehydrogenase or peripheral membrane enzymes such as photoreceptor PDE. The decrease in enzymatic activity of the field-sensitive enzymes was independent of the time of permanence in the field and was completely reversible. When these enzymes were solubilized with Triton, no effect of the field was obtained on the enzymatic activity, suggesting the crucial role of the membrane in determining the conditions for enzyme inactivation. The role of the particular linkage of the field-sensitive enzymes to the membranes is also discussed.     

Beneficial effects of electromagnetic fields

Selective control of cell function by applying specifically configured, weak, time-varying magnetic fields has added a new, exciting dimension to biology and medicine. Field parameters for therapeutic, pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMFs) were designed to induce voltages similar to those produced, normally, during dynamic mechanical deformation of connective tissues. As a result, a wide variety of challenging musculoskeletal disorders have been treated successfully over the past two decades. More than a quarter million patients with chronically ununited fractures have benefitted, worldwide, from this surgically non-invasive method, without risk, discomfort, or the high costs of operative repair. Many of the athermal bioresponses, at the cellular and subcellular levels, have been identified and found appropriate to correct or modify the pathologic processes for which PEMFs have been used. Not only is efficacy supported by these basic studies but by a number of double-blind trials. As understanding of mechanisms expands, specific requirements for field energetics are being defined and the range of treatable ills broadened. These include nerve regeneration, wound healing, graft behavior, diabetes, and myocardial and cerebral ischemia (heart attack and stroke), among other conditions. Preliminary data even suggest possible benefits in controlling malignancy.     

磁场对肿瘤抑制作用的研究进展

本文综述了从近年来国内外的各类关于磁场抑制肿瘤的实验研究以及临床工作,包括肿瘤细胞实验、动物接种肿瘤实验、临床治疗探索、各类模型以及机理研究、相关物理机制的分析以及磁场治疗癌症的展望。     

Induction of tamoxifen resistance in breast cancer cells by ELF electromagnetic fields

The incidence of breast cancer in western societies has been rising ever since the Second World War. Besides the exposure to a multitude of new chemical compounds, electromagnetic field exposure has been linked to breast cancer through a radiation-mediated anti-melatonin pathway. We investigated, whether low-frequency electromagnetic field exposure interferes with the anti-estrogenic activity of tamoxifen. Two different clones of the breast cancer cell line MCF-7 were exposed to highly homogeneous 50Hz electromagnetic fields and IC(50) values were calculated from dose-response curves of tamoxifen at various field intensities. An intensity-dependent shift of tamoxifen dose-response curves to higher concentrations with a maximal response at 1.2muT was observed. Hypothetically, electromagnetic field exposure could contribute to tamoxifen resistance observed in breast cancer after long-term treatment.     

Bio-agency and the problem of action

The Aristotle-Kant tradition requires that autonomous activity must originate within the self and points toward a new type of causation (different from natural efficient causation) associated with teleology. Notoriously, it has so far proven impossible to uncover a workable model of causation satisfying these requirements without an increasingly unsatisfying appeal to extra-physical elements tailor-made for the purpose. In this paper we first provide the essential reason why the standard linear model of efficient causation cannot support the required model of agency: its causal thread model of efficient causation cannot support the core requirement that an action is determined by, and thus an expression of, the agent’s nature. We then provide a model that corrects these deficiencies, constructed naturalistically from within contemporary biology, and argue that it provides an appropriate foundation for all the features of genuine agency. Further, we provide general characterisations of freedom and reason suitable to this bio-context (but that also capture the core classical conceptions) and show how this model reconciles them.

A comprehensive overview on utilizing electromagnetic fields in bone regenerative medicine

Stem cells are one of the most important sources to develope a new strategy for repairing bone lesions through tissue engineering. Osteogenic differentiation of stem cells can be affected by various factors such as biological, chemical, physiological, and physical ones. The application of ELF-EMFs has been the subject of many research in bone tissue engineering and evidence suggests that this exogenous physical stimulus can promote osteogenic differentiation in several types of cells. The purpose of this paper is to review the current knowledge on the effects of EMFs on stem cells in bone tissue engineering studies. We recapitulated and analyzed 39 articles that were focused on the application of EMFs for bone tissue engineering purposes. We tabulated scattered information from these articles for easy use and tried to provide an overview of conducted research and identify the knowledge gaps in the field.     

Biological effects of electromagnetic fields

Life on earth has evolved in a sea of natural electromagnetic (EM) fields. Over the past century, this natural environment has sharply changed with introduction of a vast and growing spectrum of man-made EM fields. From models based on equilibrium thermodynamics and thermal effects, these fields were initially considered too weak to interact with biomolecular systems, and thus incapable of influencing physiological functions. Laboratory studies have tested a spectrum of EM fields for bioeffects at cell and molecular levels, focusing on exposures at athermal levels. A clear emergent conclusion is that many observed interactions are not based on tissue heating. Modulation of cell surface chemical events by weak EM fields indicates a major amplification of initial weak triggers associated with binding of hormones, antibodies, and neurotransmitters to their specific binding sites. Calcium ions play a key role in this amplification. These studies support new concepts of communication between cells across the barriers of cell membranes; and point with increasing certainty to an essential physical organization in living matter, at a far finer level than the structural and functional image defined in the chemistry of molecules. New collaborations between physical and biological scientists define common goals, seeking solutions to the physical nature of matter through a strong focus on biological matter. The evidence indicates mediation by highly nonlinear, nonequilibrium processes at critical steps in signal coupling across cell membranes. There is increasing evidence that these events relate to quantum states and resonant responses in biomolecular systems, and not to equilibrium thermodynamics associated with thermal energy exchanges and tissue heating.     

Calcium homeostasis of isolated heart muscle cells exposed to pulsed high-frequency electromagnetic fields

The intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca²⁺]_i) of isolated ventricular cardiac myocytes of the guinea pig was measured during the application of pulsed high-frequency electromagnetic fields. The high-frequency fields were applied in a transverse electromagnetic cell designed to allow microscopic observation of the myocytes during the presence of the high-frequency fields. The [Ca²⁺]_i was measured as fura-2 fluorescence by means of digital image analysis. Both the carrier frequency and the square-wave pulse-modulation pattern were varied during the experiments (carrier frequencies: 900, 1,300, and 1,800 MHz pulse modulated at 217 Hz with 14% duty cycle; pulsation pattern at 900 MHz: continuous wave, 16 Hz, and 50 Hz modulation with 50% duty cycle and 30 kHz modulation with 80% duty cycle). The mean specific absorption rate (SAR) values in the solution were within one order of magnitude of 1 mW/kg. They varied depending on the applied carrier frequency and pulse pattern. The experiments were designed in three phases: 500 s of sham exposure, followed by 500 s of field exposure, then chemical stimulation without field. The chemical stimulation (K⁺-depolarization) indicated the viability of the cells. The K⁺ depolarization yielded a significant increase in [Ca²⁺]_i. Significant differences between sham exposure and high-frequency field exposure were not found except when a very small but statistically significant difference was detected in the case of 900 MHz/50 Hz. However, this small difference was not regarded as a relevant effect of the exposure. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.