ACUTE EXPOSURE TO 50 HZ MAGNETIC-FIELD DOES NOT AFFECT HEMATOLOGIC ORIMMUNOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS IN HEALTHY-YOUNG MEN - A CIRCADIAN STUDY

Some epidemiological studies report a relationship between magnetic fi eld exposure and such human diseases as leukemia and immune system dis turbances. The few published studies on animals do not demonstrate fie ld exposure-related alterations in hematologic and immune systems. The data presented here are part of a broader study designed to investiga te the possible effects of acute exposure to a 50 Hz linearly polarize d magnetic field (10 mu T) on hematologic and immunologic functions. T hirty-two young men (20-30 years old) were divided into two groups (co ntrol group, i.e., sham-exposed, 16 subjects; exposed group, 16 subjec ts). All subjects participated in two 24 h experiments to evaluate the effects of both continuous and intermittent (1 h ''off'' and 1 h with the field switched ''on'' and ''off'' every 15 s) exposure to linearl y polarized magnetic fields. The subjects were exposed to the magnetic field (generated by three Helmholtz coils per bed) from 23:00 to 08:0 0 while lying down. Blood samples were collected during each session a t 3 h intervals from 11:00 to 20:00 and hourly from 22:00 to 08:00. No significant differences were observed between sham-exposed (control) and exposed men for hemoglobin concentration, hematocrit, red blood ce lls, platelets, total leukocytes, monocytes, lymphocytes, eosinophils, or neutrophils. Immunologic variables [CD3, CD4, CD8, natural killer (NK) cells and B cells] were unaltered. To our knowledge, this study i s the first to document the effects of a 50 Hz magnetic field on the c ircadian rhythm of human hematologic and immune functions, and it sugg ests that acute exposure to either a continuous or an intermittent 50 Hz linearly polarized magnetic field of 10 mu T, at least under the co nditions of our experiment, does not affect either these functions or their circadian rhythms in healthy young men. (C) 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc .