Extremely low-frequency magnetic exposure appears to have no effect on pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease in aluminum-overloaded rat.
OBJECTIVE
Extremely low-frequency magnetic field (ELF-MF) has been reported to be of potential pathogenetic relevance to Alzheimer's disease (AD) for years. However, evidence confirming this function remains inconclusive. Chronic Al treatment has been identified as a contributing factor to cognitive function impairment in AD. This study aims to examine whether or not ELF-MF and Al have synergistic effects toward AD pathogenesis by investigating the effects of ELF-MF with or without chronic Al treatment on SD rats.


METHODS
Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were subjected one of the following treatments: sham (control group), oral Al (Al group), ELF-MF (100 µT at 50 Hz) with oral Al (MF+Al group), or ELF-MF (100 µT at 50 Hz) without oral Al (MF group).


RESULTS
After 12 wk of treatment, oral Al treatment groups (Al and MF+Al groups) showed learning and memory impairment as well as morphological hallmarks, including neuronal cell loss and high density of amyloid-β (Aβ) in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex. ELF-MF without Al treatment showed no significant effect on AD pathogenesis. ELF-MF+Al treatment induced no more damage than Al treatment did.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results showed no evidence of any association between ELF-MF exposure (100 µT at 50 Hz) and AD, and ELF-MF exposure does not influence the pathogenesis of AD induced by Al overload.
Beijing Key Laboratory of Bioelectromagnetism, Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Cheng
C
Zhang
Yue
Y
Li
Chao
C
Wang
Ruili
R
Lv
Tao
T
Song
D000284:Administration, Oral; D000535:Aluminum / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects / Q000528:radiation effects; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology; D003071:Cognition; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000473:pathology; D060526:Magnetic Fields / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats
D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D000535:Aluminum