The effects of single and repeated exposure to 2.45 GHz radiofrequency fields on c-Fos protein expression in the paraventricular nucleus of rat hypothalamus.

This study investigated the effects of microwave radiation on the PVN of the hypothalamus, extracted from rat brains. Expression of c-Fos was used to study the pattern of cellular activation in rats exposed once or repeatedly (ten times in 2 weeks) to 2.45 GHz radiation in a GTEM cell. The power intensities used were 3 and 12 W and the Finite Difference Time Domain calculation was used to determine the specific absorption rate (SAR). High SAR triggered an increase of the c-Fos marker 90 min or 24 h after radiation, and low SAR resulted in c-Fos counts higher than in control rats after 24 h. Repeated irradiation at 3 W increased cellular activation of PVN by more than 100% compared to animals subjected to acute irradiation and to repeated non-radiated repeated session control animals. The results suggest that PVN is sensitive to 2.45 GHz microwave radiation at non-thermal SAR levels.