The effect of exposure to RF-EMF from the laboratory simulator of 5G NR base station on physiological parameters and cognitive abilities of male wistar rats of different ages.

In this article, the impact of radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) exposure from a simulated base station for the 5G New Radio (5G NR) telecommunication on rats was studied. The base station affects all age groups of the population, thus, for the first time, the experiment was conducted on male Wistar rats of three different ages (juvenile, adult, and presenile). The base station exposure parameters were chosen according to ICNIRP recommendations for limiting the exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic field: frequency 2.4 GHz with an average specific absorption rate of 0.0076 W/kg and 0.0059 W/kg over the whole body of experimental animals. Throughout the experiment, body weight was examined weekly, and the dynamics of body weight gain was monitored. Rectal and skin surface temperature on the right hind limb was monitored weekly. Testing in the Morris water maze was performed during the last, Week 5, of RF-EMF exposure. After euthanasia, organ weights were determined in experimental and control animals. None of the investigated parameters did show any statistically significant differences between exposed and control animals of the same age. The data obtained can be used to assess the possible consequences of chronic exposure to RF-EMF from 5G NR base stations.

Effect of a water-maze procedure on the redox mechanisms in brain parts of aged rats.

The Morris water maze (MWM) is a tool for assessment of age-related modulations spatial learning and memory in laboratory rats. In our work was investigated the age-related decline of MWM performance in 11-month-old rats and the effect exerted by training in the MWM on the redox mechanisms in rat brain parts. Young adult (3-month-old) and aged (11-month-old) male rats were trained in the MWM. Intact animals of the corresponding age were used as the reference groups. The level of pro- and antioxidant capacity in brain tissue homogenates was assessed using the chemiluminescence method. A reduced performance in the MWM test was found in 11-month-old rats: at the first day of training they showed only 30% of successful MWM trials. However, at the last training day the percentage of successful trials was equal for young adult and aged animals. This indicates that the aged 11-month-old rats can successfully learn in MWM. Therewith, the MWM spatial learning procedure itself produces changes in different processes of redox homeostasis in 11-month-old and 3-month-old rats as compared to intact animals. Young adult rats showed a decrease in prooxidant capacity in all brain parts, while 11-month-old rats demonstrated an increase in antioxidant capacity in the olfactory bulb, pons + medulla oblongata and frontal lobe cortex. Hence, the MWM procedure activates the mechanisms that restrict the oxidative stress in brain parts. The obtained results may be an argument for further development of the animal training procedures aimed to activate the mechanisms that can prevent the age-related deterioration of performance in the learning test. This may be useful not only for the development of training procedures applicable to human patients with age-related cognitive impairments, but also for their rehabilitation.