Radiotherapy Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Radiotherapy, including details on cancer treatment, side effects.

Electromagnetic pulses induce fluctuations in blood pressure in rats.

Li BF, Guo GZ, Ren DQ, Jing-Li , Zhang RB

Department of Radiation Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Shannxi Province, China.

PURPOSE: To investigate the effects of exposure to electromagnetic pulses (EMP) on functional indices of the cardiovascular system in male Sprague-Dawley rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A tapered parallel plate Gigahertz Transverse Electromagnetic cell (GTEM cell) with a flared rectangular coaxial transmission line was used to expose the rats to EMP (0.5 pps, total 200 pulses and whole-body averaged specific absorption rate 50 mW/kg at 200 kV/m or 75 mW/kg at 400 kV/m). Concurrent sham-exposed animals were used as controls. Cardiovascular functions, namely, heart rate, and systolic, mean and diastolic blood pressures were measured immediately and up to 4 weeks post-exposure using a non-invasive tail-cuff photoelectric sensor sphygmomanometer. RESULTS: The heart rates in sham- and EMP-exposed rats were not significantly changed. In the exposed rats, increased systolic blood pressure (SBP) occurred at 0 h and decreased SBP occurred at 1 day and 3 days after exposure. Significantly higher diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was found at 0 h and significantly lower DBP was found at 12 h, 1 day, and 1 month after exposure. Significantly higher mean arterial pressure (MAP) was noted at 0 h and significantly lower MAP was noted at 1 day. CONCLUSIONS: Significant alterations in arterial blood pressure were observed in rats exposed to EMP exposure while heart rate was not altered.

Published 9 May 2007 in Int J Radiat Biol, 83(6): 421-9.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2004-2008 Radiotherapy Research Today. All Rights Reserved.