TY - JOUR A2 - Filomeni, Giuseppe AU - Consales, Claudia AU - Merla, Caterina AU - Marino, Carmela AU - Benassi, Barbara PY - 2012 DA - 2012/09/09 TI - Electromagnetic Fields, Oxidative Stress, and Neurodegeneration SP - 683897 VL - 2012 AB - Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) originating both from both natural and manmade sources permeate our environment. As people are continuously exposed to EMFs in everyday life, it is a matter of great debate whether they can be harmful to human health. On the basis of two decades of epidemiological studies, an increased risk for childhood leukemia associated with Extremely Low Frequency fields has been consistently assessed, inducing the International Agency for Research on Cancer to insert them in the 2B section of carcinogens in 2001. EMFs interaction with biological systems may cause oxidative stress under certain circumstances. Since free radicals are essential for brain physiological processes and pathological degeneration, research focusing on the possible influence of the EMFs-driven oxidative stress is still in progress, especially in the light of recent studies suggesting that EMFs may contribute to the etiology of neurodegenerative disorders. This review synthesizes the emerging evidences about this topic, highlighting the wide data uncertainty that still characterizes the EMFs effect on oxidative stress modulation, as both pro-oxidant and neuroprotective effects have been documented. Care should be taken to avoid methodological limitations and to determine the patho-physiological relevance of any alteration found in EMFs-exposed biological system. SN - 1687-8876 UR - https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/683897 DO - 10.1155/2012/683897 JF - International Journal of Cell Biology PB - Hindawi Publishing Corporation KW - ER -