Mobiles disrupt sleep, says new report

image

London: Mobile phones severely disrupt sleep patterns, according to scientific research into their impact on human rest, funded by the Mobile Manufacturers Association.

The research undertaken by the Electromagnetic Academy based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in the United States, exposed 71 men and women, aged between 18 and 45, to mobile phone radiation as they prepared to sleep.

According to the study, monitoring under laboratory conditions showed the initial ‘light’ phases of sleep in the subjects were affected. In addition, “exposure to 884 MHz wireless signals, components of sleep, believed to be important for recovery from daily wear and tear, are adversely affected.”
The research also found that those exposed to mobile phones during their sleep appear to have more headaches, than those not exposed.

The findings coincide with calls from UK company Exradia, manufacturers of the first device proven to neutralize potentially dangerous mobile phone radiation, for more government research into the health issues being raised.

David Schick, Exradia chief executive, said, “This study is yet another example of how using mobile phones can have a detrimental effect on humans.
It is critical that the UK Government now undertakes a formal public inquiry into this issue.”

France recently became the latest country to advise against excessive use of mobile phones, particularly by children. Other countries who’ve issued similar advice include Sweden, the UK, Israel and India.

More information:

“The Effects of 884 MHz GSM Wireless Communication Signals on Self-reported Symptom and Sleep (EEG)” was sponsored by the Mobile Manufacturers Forum and published in the Progress in Electromagnetics Research Symposium (PIERS) from the US Electromagnetics Academy based at MIT in Cambridge USA. The research was undertaken by six scientists from the following Universities/bodies – Wayne State Univertisy & Uppsala University, USA; Karolinska Institutet, Sweden and Foundation IT’IS, USA.

More details of the research can be found here :
http://piers.mit.edu/piersonline/piers.php?volume=3&number=7&page=1148

The Exradia Angel™ www.exradia.comis a replacement battery containing a chip and coil that actively superimposes a random noise field over the radio waves emitted by the cellular antenna. The Angel costs £24.99 and is available for 80% of the popular mobile phones available today from Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, LG and Samsung.

Six leading American Universities, including Columbia University, New York, have independently tested the Angel technology in research between 1993 and 2005. All the studies confirmed that radiation emitted from mobile phones does cause biological changes in animals and that the Angel technology neutralized the changes in every case.

New pill may help MS sufferers get mobile

New York: A new drug that helps sufferers of multiple sclerosis to walk may soon be on the market.

The drug, known as Fampridine-SR, helps damaged nerves communicate with each other and may also be helpful in treating spinal injuries.

Although there are drugs that help relieve some MS symptoms there is nothing available that helps with the problems of mobility caused by the disease. The crippling disease is usually diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 40 and affects three times as many women as men.

The cause is unknown and doctors are not certain whether it is caused by a virus or the immune system. The early symptoms include tingling and extreme tiredness. In later stages patients are usually wheelchair bound and have problems with mobility and speech and sufferers have good and bad periods.

As well as drugs some patients have been able to use a cannabis-based drug called Sativex. The drug is a spray that is squirted into the mouth and contains two of the active ingredients in cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol. Stem cell treatment may also be a possibility.

The new twice a day mobility pill which is made by Acorda Therapeutics, is a slow-release tablet that lets tiny quantities of the active drug seep into the central nervous system over several hours. The latest trial results suggest it can have a dramatic impact.

More than 300 patients with walking disabilities were given either the active pill or a dummy one and then asked to complete a timed 25ft walk to test their speed and agility. The test was repeated over the course of the 14-week trial.

Results showed 35 per cent of those on Fampridine-SR showed improvements in walking, compared with just eight per cent in the placebo group.

Tests also revealed improvements in leg strength. However, patients on the drug reported more side-effects such as seizures, nausea and dizziness.

The drug works by stopping potassium leaking from cells. When myelin gets damaged, potassium can escape, weakening the electric current that helps to carry messages. The drug stops these leaks and helps electrical signals pass through areas of damage.