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[June 27, 2006]
(Evening Standard Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) FRESH fears that using a mobile phone could damage your health emerged today.
Scientists have found that radiation from mobile handsets may trigger disorders such as epilepsy, by electrically stimulating the brain.
The study, published in the Annals Of Neurology, studied the brains of 15 young men while they used a mobile phone for 45 minutes. In 12 of the subjects, the researchers found that an area of the brain called the motor cortex next to where they had been holding the phone became excited.
The motor cortex, part of the outer layer of the brain, is known as the "excitable area" because magnetic stimulation has been shown to cause a muscle twitch.
The researchers said their findings suggest that people with conditions such as epilepsy, linked with brain cell excitability, could be affected by mobile phone use.
Dr Paolo Rossini, of Fatebenefratelli Hospital in Milan, who led the study, said: "It should be argued that long-lasting and repeated exposure to electromagnetic fields linked with intense use of cellular phones in daily life might be harmful or beneficial in brain-diseased subjects."
The study adds to growing concern over the safety of mobile phones.
Last year government advisers told parents not to buy young children handsets after scientists admitted that research suggests a genuine radiation risk to children's brains.
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