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Cellphone use
associated with increased
risk of brain tumors
I
haven’t got a brilliant memory, but sometimes something
somebody lets me know does somehow stick in my mind. One
such memory I have concerns a patient I saw some years back.
He had had a brain swelling ( I forget what sort ) removed,
and had an interest in supporting his recovery and general
health thru nourishment. During our consultation he remarked
he had a boy that also had had a brain tumour.
I
questioned if his doctors believed there was any genetic
link.
He
responded in the negative, and told me it was his opinion
that mobile telephones were the cause. This person went on
to tell me that both he and his child were early adopters of
this technology, and by their own admission were heavy users
too. He went on to inform me a tale about an experience he
had after he had had his operation. He was sitting in a
packed waiting room full of post-surgical patients. Nearly
all of the patients in the room had had brain growths
removed and the scarring to prove it. A chat about mobile
telephones started in the waiting room, so my patients made
a decision to take a straw poll then and there. All of the
patients who had had brain growths turned out to be mobile
telephone users. Now, there's nothing especially telling
here I suspect, because mobile telephone use is so common.
However,
my patients went one better in his poll by then asking each
individual which ear they habitually held their mobile
telephone to. He reported to me the side they indicated
matched the side of their growth in each case. This is all
only anecdotal observation and all that, and does not prove
a thing, but this memory came back to me this morning after
reading about some research which was published lately at
the Royal Society in a meeting held by the Radiation
Research Trust. The study was conducted by a team controlled
by Professor Lennart Hardell of the University Hospice in
Orebro in Sweden. It hasn't been officially broadcast yet,
though from what I am able to make out, the data has come
from a formerly released piece of analysis from Professor
Hardell [1].
The
analysis targeted on the likelihood of precise cancers in
people who started to use mobile telephones before the age
of twenty. Younger folks were the target for this research
because they are said to be more subject to the electronic
radiation that emanates from mobile telephones, mainly
because their skulls are thinner and may permit the
radiation to penetrate more deeply into the brain. The
analysis discovered that people who started mobile telephone
use before the age of 20 were at terribly noticeably
increased ( more than 5-fold ) likelihood of brain growths
known as 'gliomas' as well as benign ( non-cancerous )
swellings on the main nerve in charge of hearing known as
'acoustic neuromas'.
According to reports, use of cordless home telephones were
at seriously raised likelihood of glioma too. People who
started to use mobile handsets in their 20s were also at
increased likelihood of glioma and acoustic neuroma, though
the boosted risk was smaller than that seen in the earlier
users : possibility of glioma and acoustic neuroma was up
about fifty and a hundred p.c. respectively.
Professor Hardell is quoted as asserting : This is a caution
sign. It is extremely troubling. We deserve to be taking
precautions. It is maybe fascinating to notice Professor
Hardell's previous work in this area, particularly a
meta-analysis of studies taking a look at the link between
mobile telephone use and brain swelling risk [1]. People
using mobile telephones in the long run ( ten or more years
) were revealed to be at an increased chance of glioma and
acoustic neuroma on the side of telephone use ( risk was
increased by two hundred and 240 per cent respectively.
Mobile
telephone use wasn't related to increased risk of these
cancers on the other side of the head to the one that the
telephone is habitually held. The proof as it hands supports
the assumption long term mobile telephone use is indeed
related to an increased risk of brain cancers, just like my
patient thought it was years back. |
