COMOBIO Research in France COMOBIO Project COmmunications MObiles et BIOlogie Réseau National de Recherches en Télécommunications (RNRT, Ministries of Research and Industry) Objectives –Promote a significant contribution of French research teams to the research effort on mobile telephone and health –Participation in the research programmes coordinated by WHO (along with the EMF programme agenda)

COMOBIO Participants –Manufacturers : Alcatel, Sagem –Network providers : Bouygues Telecom, Cégétel, France Télécom –Engineering schools and research centres: ENST de Paris et de Brest, IRCOM Limoges, Supélec, –Universities : Bordeaux, Marseille, Nîmes, Orsay, Rennes. Duration: 33 months, from January 99 Budget: 2 M€ excluding salaries

COMOBIO Project organisation Scientific committee B. Veyret, J. Wiart C. GrangeatP. Aubineau G. Faucon dosimetryhumananimal

COMOBIO Certification of mobile telephones 1: Dosimetry Certification of mobile telephones Objectives 1. Analysis of homogeneous phantoms 2. Improvement of electrical-field probes 3. Assessment of SAR test protocols and evaluation of uncertainty 4. Transfer to industry Results : s Major contribution to standardisation by international committees s Successful transfer to companies

COMOBIO Miniature isotropic probe Calibration set-up

COMOBIO Dosimetry of exposure systems 2: Dosimetry of exposure systems Objective – improve exposure systems for animals and in particular the local « loop » antenna Results  Good agreement between numerical calculations (FDTD) and measurements (E field and  T)  Efficiency: 6 W/kg/W (BASAR)

COMOBIO Manuscript in preparation

COMOBIO Evoked auditory potential and dosimetry of the innerear 3: Human study Evoked auditory potential and dosimetry of the inner ear Objective –Study on healthy and epileptic subjects Results –No detectable effects so far

COMOBIO Correlation histogramme

COMOBIO Rat brain metabolism 4: animal study Rat brain metabolism Objective –Map gene expression (c-fos) and functionnal activity of the brain ( 14 C-2-deoxyglucose) in rats exposed head-only to GSM-900 at 0.7, 1.5, 3, and 6 W/kg Results –C-fos decreased in rats that underwent memory tests but increased in resting rats!

COMOBIO C-fos

COMOBIO Manuscripts in preparation 2-DG

COMOBIO Rat learning and memory 5: Animal study Rat learning and memory Objective – Confirmation study of the Lai experiments (Lai et al., 1994; Wang et Lai, 2000) Head-only exposure at 1.5 and 5 W/kg BASAR for 45 min – 8-arm maze and dry Morris water maze Results No effects on working and reference memory

COMOBIO Dubreuil et al. (2002) Behavioural Brain Research, 129,

COMOBIO Rat blood-brain-barrier and dura mater 6: Animal study Rat blood-brain-barrier and dura mater Objective  Assess the permeability of the blood-brain-barrier (BBB) and dura mater in rats under head-only exposure to GSM 900 signals (2-h exposure at 3, 3/4 and 3/16 W/kg BASAR) Results  Increases in BBB permeability and dura mater inflammation were observed above around 0.3 W/kg (in particular in sympathectomised animals). Manuscript in preparation

COMOBIO normal sham Sympathectomised sham Exposed Dura mater Brain 3 W/kg BASAR Exposed 3 W/kg BASAR

COMOBIO Guinea-pig auditory system 7: Animal study Guinea-pig auditory system Objective –Auditory evoked potentials are measured in guinea pigs exposed locally (one ear) to GSM 900 (1 h/d, 5 d/w for 2 months at 1, 2 et 4 W/kg). –Cells of the organ of Corti are exposed in vitro Results –No effects on guinea pigs nor on the organ of Corti Manuscript submitted

COMOBIO

8: Animal study Rat neurotransmitters and their receptors 1st Objective : Measurement of NT levels by immuno-histochemistry following local exposure of rats Result: decrease of GABA at high SAR 2nd Objective : Measurement of NT receptor by auto-radiography following 15-min local exposure Result: decrease of the binding of several radio- ligands on their specific receptors

COMOBIO Glial reaction At 6 W/kg BASAR, reactive astrocytes area increased by about 20-25% in the cortex and the hippocampus and up to 140 % in the striatum revealing astrocyte hypertrophy and/or hyperplasy [GFAP (Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein)] Manuscript submitted to Nature

COMOBIO Other research projects European programmes –Interphone, Reflex, Ramp, Guard MMF and GSM Association –Perform B : replication studies Service providers (AFOM) –Ethnology, Sociology, Dosimetry, Biology (neurodegenerative, skin, HSP, etc.)

COMOBIO Recent French reports on mobile telephony and health « Zmirou » report, Jan OPECST, Nov update of the Zmirou report, Feb 2003