Abstract:

Objective: The electromagnetic waves (EMW) emitted by commonly used mobile phones are reported to have effects on many tissues. In this study, we aimed to show the effect of EMW emitted by mobile phone with DSC 1800 carrier frequency and pulse repetition frequency of 217 Hz which has the highest SAR value 1.79 W/kg on the morphological changes of rat testis. Method: Wistar-albino rats were used in this study (n= 6 for each group) and were divided to 5 experimental groups as Control, Standby Fetal, Standby, EMW Fetal and EMW. Application of EMW was performed for 2 hours per day until the birth in fetal experimental groups and until postnatal 60th day in other experimental groups. Testes of the rats in all experimental groups were taken at postnatal 60th day under ether anesthesia. The body and testis of the rats were weighed. Testis tissues were fixed with Bouin solution and routine paraffin processing was done. Paraffin sections were stained with Hematoxylin & Eosin, then, diameter and area of seminiferous tubules were measured and histopathological scoring was done. Results: While body weight of the rats was decreased in only EMW group, testis weight, seminiferous tubule area and seminiferous tubule diameter were decreased in the EMW Fetal and EMW groups. Seminiferous tubules with normal morphology were not significantly decreased in the Standby group, but, significantly decreased in the EMW Fetal and EMW groups. Degenerative and atrophic tubules were found to be significantly increased in the EMW group. Conclusion: EMW emitted by mobile phones showed adverse effects on testis morphology in speaks mode. As a result, detailed studies on the blood-testis barrier that regulates spermatogenesis and Leydig cells are needed in order to show the effects of EMW on male fertility.

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