Nonlinear response of the immune system to power-frequency magnetic fields

Abstract

Studies of the effects of power-frequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs) on the immune and other body systems produced positive and negative results, and this pattern was usually interpreted to indicate the absence of real effects. However, if the biological effects of EMFs were governed by nonlinear laws, deterministic responses to fields could occur that were both real and inconsistent, thereby leading to both types of results. The hypothesis of real inconsistent effects due to EMFs was tested by exposing mice to 1 G, 60 Hz for 1-105 days and observing the effect on 20 immune parameters, using flow cytometry and functional assays. The data were evaluated by means of a novel statistical procedure that avoided averaging away oppositely directed changes in different animals, which we perceived to be the problem in some of the earlier EMF studies. The reliability of the procedure was shown using appropriate controls. In three independent experiments involving exposure for 21 or more days, the field altered lymphoid phenotype even though the changes in individual immune parameters were inconsistent. When the data were evaluated using traditional linear statistical methods, no significant difference in any immune parameter was found. We were able to mimic the results by sampling from known chaotic systems, suggesting that deterministic chaos could explain the effect of fields on the immune system. We conclude that exposure to power-frequency fields produced changes in the immune system that were both real and inconsistent.

Human electrophysiological and cognitive effects of exposure to ELF magnetic and ELF modulated RF and microwave fields: A review of recent studies

“…Marino [1995] and Marino et al [2000] have hypothesized that deterministic chaos could be a possible explanation of the inconsistent effects found in bioelectromagnetics. Nonlinear dynamics may be a framework from which to consider some of the variable results of prior studies in this review.…”

Coincident Nonlinear Changes in the Endocrine and Immune Systems due to Low-Frequency Magnetic Fields

“…We used the procedure to show that low-frequency magnetic fields consistently altered lymphoid phenotype via nonlinear processes [24]. The present study was undertaken to show that the same kind of changes occurred coincidentally in both the endocrine and immune systems, as would be predicted on the basis of our theory.…”

“…and the cumulative frequency of significant results as a function of L is shown in figure 1. Also shown in figure 1 are the results of two sham experiments in which the field was not applied to either of the two groups [24].…”

“…According to this theory, following sensory transduction, afferent neuroelectric signals trigger efferent signals that activate the endocrine system, leading to changes in many different physiological parameters as a consequence of the ability of the body's sensory and effector systems to express and recognize each other's signals [15,16]. The results of tests of various aspects of the theory have been presented [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]. Alternative theories have been proposed in which the biological changes caused by EMFs were considered to arise by means of a direct impact of the field on the affected cells or tissues [25][26][27][28].…”

The Effect of Spatially Inhomogeneous Electromagnetic Field and Local Inductive Hyperthermia on Nonlinear Dynamics of the Growth for Transplanted Animal Tumors

“…They tend to be quasi (almost but not quite)-periodic, the periodicities are a complex of many periods, and they can swing between different quasi-periodic states. But they are not at all random (Waliszewski et al, 1998;Marino et al, 2000Marino et al, ,2009. Living systems are organized such that they manifest operational features ascribed to hierarchical and heterarchical structures from quantum to organism levels (Dirks, 2008).…”