Researchers at the University of Bern have found that people living within 50 metres of a high voltage (220 – 380kV) power line had a higher than normal risk of dying from Alzheimer’s Disease. As the risk increased over time, after 15 years of living near these lines, the risk was double the expected rate.

According to Microwave News, these results support findings by other scientists. Their article refers to studies which have found that occupational exposure to EMF’s doubled the risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease. It also cites work from 1996, in which an hypothesis was put forward to explain how EMF’s may have this effect.

It proposed that magnetic fields increase the flow of calcium ions into cells, which leads to the build up, in the blood stream, of a substance called amyloid beta (a nervous system toxin). This substance eventually makes it’s way into the brain, where it aggregates into plaques that are characteristic of Alzheimer’s Disease.

More research is needed to confirm whether or not this hypothesis accurately describes the biological mechanisms by which EMF’s may be associated with Alzheimer’s Disease.

Reference

Microwave News  2008   Power-Line EMf’s: New Focus on Alzheimer’s Disease  Microwave News Vol.XXVIII No. 9. Online, available at : http://www.microwavenews.com