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

Studies of the effects of power-frequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs) on the immune and other body systems produced positive and negative results, a nd this pattern was usually interpreted to indicate the absence of real eff ects. However, if the biological effects of EMFs were governed by nonlinear laws, deterministic responses to fields could occur that were both real an d 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, usin g flow cytometry and functional assays. The data were evaluated by means of a novel statistical procedure that avoided averaging away oppositely direc ted changes in different animals, which we perceived to be the problem in s ome of the earlier EMF studies. The reliability of the procedure was shown using appropriate controls. In three independent experiments involving expo sure for 21 or more days, the field altered lymphoid phenotype even though the changes in individual immune parameters were inconsistent. When the dat a were evaluated using traditional linear statistical methods, no significa nt difference in any immune parameter was found. We were able to mimic the results by sampling from known chaotic systems, suggesting that determinist ic chaos could explain the effect of fields on the immune system. We conclu de that exposure to power-frequency fields produced changes in the immune s ystem that were both real and inconsistent.