When are ElectroMagnetic Fields Beneficial and When are they Dangerous?

According to the 16th century doctor, Paracelsus, all stimuli that are capable of affecting the biological processes can either be beneficial or adverse depending on the dosage and its application. One example, the use of steroids can be extremely beneficial to the body if applied once or twice, whereas chronic repetitive use is very adverse.

Several biological experiments and decades of therapeutic applications confirm that the century-old wisdom can also apply to EMF exposures. In the former Soviet Union (FSU), EMF exposures are widely used for treatment of people with different adverse conditions such as, alleviate stress reactions, tissue stimulation and bone repair regeneration, ionizing radiation protection and facilitate in the wide range of diseases.

This EMF exposure therapy research done at FSU involves short repetitive local exposures of certain areas of the body with low intensity EMF, according to the Army and Air Force scientists. The areas to be exposed, radiation frequency, waveform and modulation, and the daily duration of procedures are determined bye a physician based on the illness and the condition of a certain patient. Radiation intensity is usually regarded as a less important variable, as long as it does not heat or cause damage to the tissue. For most of the diseases that requires EMF therapy, exposures vary from 15-60 minutes and usually last for about 8-15 days.

Extensive review by scientists at Brooks Air Force Base and the U.S. Army Medical Research Detachment of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, San Antonio , Texas , Hundreds of publications have been done by FSU with regards to the clinical use of EMF's. A lot claimed that EMF therapy is more effective than the conventional methods such as drug therapy for a variety of disorders. One major advantage of EMF therapy is that, it is non-invasive (meaning - Not penetrating the body, as by incision; Used especially of a diagnostic procedure).

EMF in combination with drug therapy facilitated favorable effects and/or reduces adverse side effects of drugs. EMF might be very effective or none at all, dependent on the patient's medical condition, individual sensitivity to EMF, and parameters of irradiation. This is same with the findings of researchers from the West that shows EMF induced effects differ highly with genetics and other parameters. EMF is also widely used in the West for clinical treatment of bone fractures and tissue wounds.

A research study was done on chicken embryos and how EMF exposures affect these embryos by the Catholic University of America (CUA). It was found out that short exposures of EMF caused the embryos to be able to survive simulated heart attacks (anoxia conditions) far better than the ones that are not exposed to EMF. However, if these embryos are subjected to chronic, repetitive exposures, the results are opposite.

Professor Litovitz, the leader of CUA's research team explained the effects of EMF. Short exposures of EMF simulate the living system to produce stress proteins - also called heat shock proteins, which are important factors of the cell's and body's defense mechanism. However, repetitive exposures can cause the living system to down-regulate the stress response mechanism in order to avoid exhaustion. When the system is in down-regulated condition, and is exposed to another stressor (e.g., anoxia, infection, ionizing radiation, etc.) which may be a serious threat to its life and may not have enough stress proteins to fight the adverse stressor. The principle of down-regulation is well-established and is fundamental in many biological responses. It is an accepted phenomenon in biology and medicine.

There is a faster reaction time in humans subjected to cellular phone microwave exposures, based on a report by scientists from Bristol University and the Bristol Royal Infirmary in the UK , led by Dr. Alan Preece. Dr. Preece stated: "this effect could be a slight warning of the brain leading to increased blood flow, or alternatively a change in protein synthesis (which is caused by a reaction of the body's defense mechanism), leading to the same effect".

Also, a team of scientists from the Pettis VA Medical Center in Loma Linda , California , in 1998 reported that radiation from cell phones in some circumstances decreased DNA damage, and in other circumstances the cell phone radiation increased DNA damage. These results were dependent on the modulation scheme and exposure intensity.