Determination of the effects of extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields on the percentages of peripheral blood leukocytes and histology of lymphoid organs of the mouse

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of very weak, extremely low frequency (50 Hz) electromagnetic field (ELF-EMF) on the relative spleen weight, lymphoid organ histology, peripheral blood leukocyte and alpha-naphthyl acetate esterase positive (ANAE- positive) lymphocyte percentages of the mouse.

METHODS: The study was carried out in Scientific Research and Application Center of Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey in 2005. A total of 120 Swiss albino mice were divided into 6 groups (20 in each group). The experimental animals were exposed to 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 uT flux intensities (rms) of EMF at 50 Hz for 40 days.

RESULTS: In the exposure groups with 20 animals, the body weight (BW) increased gradually in higher field intensities and reached at peak level in the 4 uT, and then slightly decreased. The relative spleen weight (% of the BW) was not affected. The ELF-EMF treatment did not cause any significant change in lymphocyte, monocyte and ANAE-positive lymphocyte ratios, whereas percentages of neutrophils and basophiles changed non-linearly. Any change in the lymphoid organ histology, which is attributable to the field effect, was not observed in the exposure groups.

CONCLUSION: Extremely low frequency-EMF exposure with the flux intensities between 1-5 uT for 40 days did not cause any effect on the relative spleen weight, lymphoid organ histology, leukocyte and ANAE-positive lymphocyte percentages of the mouse.