GSM mobile phone radiation suppresses brain glucose metabolism.

We investigated the effects of mobile phone radiation on cerebral glucose metabolism using high resolution positron emission tomography PET with the 18 F deoxyglucose FDG tracer A long half life 109 minutes of the 18 F isotope allowed a long natural exposure condition outside the PET scanner Thirteen young right handed male subjects were exposed to a pulse modulated 902 4 MHz Global System for Mobile Communications signal for 33 minutes while performing a simple visual vigilance task Temperature was also measured in the head region forehead eyes cheeks ear canals during exposure 18 F deoxyglucose PET images acquired after the exposure showed that relative cerebral metabolic rate of glucose was significantly reduced in the temporoparietal junction and anterior temporal lobe of the right hemisphere ipsilateral to the exposure Temperature rise was also observed on the exposed side of the head but the magnitude was very small The exposure did not affect task performance reaction time error rate Our results show that short term mobile phone exposure can locally suppress brain energy metabolism in humans