<p>Cellphone towers and other technologies that emit electromagmetic fields may cause amputees to feel pain in their injured limbs, a new study has found for the first time.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Until now there was no scientific evidence to back the stories of people who reported aberrant sensations and neuropathic pain around towers that produce radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs).<br /><br />"Our study provides evidence, for the first time, that subjects exposed to cellphone towers at low, regular levels can actually perceive pain," said senior author Mario Romero-Ortega, an associate professor at The University of Texas at Dallas.<br /><br />Most of the research into the possible effects of cellphone towers on humans has been conducted on individuals with no diagnosed, pre-existing conditions.<br /><br />The team hypothesised that the formation of neuromas - inflamed peripheral nerve bundles that often form due to injury - created an environment that may be sensitive to EMF-tissue interactions.<br /><br />To test this, the team randomly assigned 20 rats into two groups - one receiving a nerve injury that simulated amputation, and the other group receiving a sham treatment.<br /><br />Researchers then exposed the subjects to a radiofrequency electromagnetic antenna for 10 minutes, once per week for eight weeks.<br /><br />The antenna delivered a power density equal to that measured at 39 metres from a local cellphone tower - a power density that a person might encounter outside of occupational settings.<br /><br />Researchers found that by the fourth week, 88 per cent of subjects in the nerve-injured group demonstrated a behavioural pain response, while only one subject in the sham group exhibited pain at a single time point, and that was during the first week.<br /><br />After growth of neuroma and resection - the typical treatment in humans with neuromas who are experiencing pain - the pain responses persisted.<br /><br />"Many believe that a neuroma has to be present in order to evoke pain. Our model found that electromagnetic fields evoked pain that is perceived before neuroma formation; subjects felt pain almost immediately," Romero-Ortega said.<br /><br />Researchers also performed experiments at the cellular level to explain the behavioural response.<br /><br />That led researchers to explore the protein TRPV4, which is known to be a factor in heat sensitivity and the development of allodynia - experience of pain from a non-painful stimulation of the skin, such as light touch - which some subjects displayed.<br /><br />"It is highly likely that TRPV4 is a mediator in the pain response for these subjects," Romero-Ortega said.<br /><br />Romero-Ortega said since the research produced pain responses similar to those in anecdotal reports and a specific human case, the results "are very likely" generalisable to humans. The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE.</p>
<p>Cellphone towers and other technologies that emit electromagmetic fields may cause amputees to feel pain in their injured limbs, a new study has found for the first time.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Until now there was no scientific evidence to back the stories of people who reported aberrant sensations and neuropathic pain around towers that produce radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs).<br /><br />"Our study provides evidence, for the first time, that subjects exposed to cellphone towers at low, regular levels can actually perceive pain," said senior author Mario Romero-Ortega, an associate professor at The University of Texas at Dallas.<br /><br />Most of the research into the possible effects of cellphone towers on humans has been conducted on individuals with no diagnosed, pre-existing conditions.<br /><br />The team hypothesised that the formation of neuromas - inflamed peripheral nerve bundles that often form due to injury - created an environment that may be sensitive to EMF-tissue interactions.<br /><br />To test this, the team randomly assigned 20 rats into two groups - one receiving a nerve injury that simulated amputation, and the other group receiving a sham treatment.<br /><br />Researchers then exposed the subjects to a radiofrequency electromagnetic antenna for 10 minutes, once per week for eight weeks.<br /><br />The antenna delivered a power density equal to that measured at 39 metres from a local cellphone tower - a power density that a person might encounter outside of occupational settings.<br /><br />Researchers found that by the fourth week, 88 per cent of subjects in the nerve-injured group demonstrated a behavioural pain response, while only one subject in the sham group exhibited pain at a single time point, and that was during the first week.<br /><br />After growth of neuroma and resection - the typical treatment in humans with neuromas who are experiencing pain - the pain responses persisted.<br /><br />"Many believe that a neuroma has to be present in order to evoke pain. Our model found that electromagnetic fields evoked pain that is perceived before neuroma formation; subjects felt pain almost immediately," Romero-Ortega said.<br /><br />Researchers also performed experiments at the cellular level to explain the behavioural response.<br /><br />That led researchers to explore the protein TRPV4, which is known to be a factor in heat sensitivity and the development of allodynia - experience of pain from a non-painful stimulation of the skin, such as light touch - which some subjects displayed.<br /><br />"It is highly likely that TRPV4 is a mediator in the pain response for these subjects," Romero-Ortega said.<br /><br />Romero-Ortega said since the research produced pain responses similar to those in anecdotal reports and a specific human case, the results "are very likely" generalisable to humans. The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE.</p>