Growth Retardation, Testicular Stimulation, and Increased Melatonin Synthesis by Weak Magnetic Fields (50 Hz) in Djungarian Hamsters,Phodopus sungorus

Abstract

Male Djungarian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus;45 animals per group) were either sham-exposed or exposed to a sinusoidal magnetic field for 56 days (Experiment 1: 50 Hz, 450 μTesla peak; max. dB/dt = 140 mTesla s−1; 24 hrs day−1). Except for day 7, no effects were observed with respect to body weights during exposure. However, testicular cell numbers were significantly increased by exposure (tetraploid (4C): p=0.022; diploid (2C): p=0.039). Rectangular magnetic fields (Experiment 2: 360 μTesla; max. dB/dt = 2.5 Tesla s−1) caused a significant (p<0.001) but transient suppressing effect on body weights. Significant increases were also observed in testicular cell numbers (4C: p=0.034; haploid (1C): p=0.014) and in serum melatonin (p=0.001). It is concluded that weak magnetic fields may affect reproductive and physiological functions in the mammalian species tested and that the degree of these effects depends upon the fields’ gradients.