Cell Phone Use Affects Brain Glucose Metabolism
Susan Jeffrey


February 23, 2011 — Use of a cell phone for as little as 50 minutes at a time appears to affect brain glucose metabolism in the region closest to the phone's antenna, a new study shows.
Investigators used positron emission tomography (PET) during cell phone use in the on and then off positions and found that although whole-brain metabolism was not affected, metabolism was increased in the orbitofrontal cortex and the temporal pole areas of the brain while the cell phone was on, areas that are close to where phone's antenna meets the head.

Dr. Nora Volkow

"We do not know what the clinical significance of this finding is, both with respect to potential therapeutic effect of this type of technology but also potential negative consequences from cell phone exposure," said lead study author Nora D. Volkow, MD, from the National Institute on Drug Abuse in Bethesda, Maryland, during a teleconference.
In the interim though, she recommends using hands-free devices or speaker-phone mode to avoid direct contact of the telephone with the head. Previous work suggests that if the phone is a foot or more away it is very unlikely to have any effects, she said. "So there are some very easy solutions that don't cost anything for those who want to play it safe."
Caution may be particularly necessary for children and adolescents whose neural tissue is still developing, Dr. Volkow noted. This is also a population who started their lives with cell phones and can expect to be exposed for years to come, she added.
Their report appears in the February 23 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/737860