Author: Riancho J^1,^2,³, Sanchez de la Torre JR⁴, Paz-Fajardo L⁵, Limia C⁵, Santurtun A⁶, Cifra M⁷, Kourtidis K^8,⁹, Fdez-Arroyabe P¹⁰
Affiliation: 1Service of Neurology, Hospital Sierrallana-IDIVAL, Barrio Ganzo s/n, 39300, Torrelavega, Spain. javier.riancho86@gmail.com. 2CIBERNED, Barcelona, Spain. javier.riancho86@gmail.com. 3Medicine and Psychiatry Department, University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain. javier.riancho86@gmail.com. 4Service of Neurology, Hospital Sierrallana-IDIVAL, Barrio Ganzo s/n, 39300, Torrelavega, Spain. 5Service of Internal Medicine, Hospital Sierrallana, Torrelavega, Spain. 6Legal Medicine and Toxicology Unit, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain. 7Institute of Photonics and Electronics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Chaberská 1014/57, 182 51, Prague, Czech Republic. 8Department of Environmental Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace, 67100, Xanthi, Greece. 9Environmental and Networking Technologies and Applications Unit (ENTA), Athena Research and Innovation Center, 67100, Xanthi, Greece. 10Geography and Planning Department, Geobiomet Research Group, University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain.
Conference/Journal: Int J Biometeorol.
Date published: 2020 Mar 20
Other: Special Notes: doi: 10.1007/s00484-020-01896-y. [Epub ahead of print] , Word Count: 163

The term neurodegenerative diseases include a long list of diseases affecting the nervous system that are characterized by the degeneration of different neurological structures. Among them, Alzheimer disease (AD), Parkinson disease (PD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are the most representative ones. The vast majority of cases are sporadic and results from the interaction of genes and environmental factors in genetically predisposed individuals. Among environmental conditions, electromagnetic field exposure has begun to be assessed as a potential risk factor for neurodegeneration. In this review, we discuss the existing literature regarding electromagnetic fields and neurodegenerative diseases. Epidemiological studies in AD, PD, and ALS have shown discordant results; thus, a clear correlation between electromagnetic exposure and neurodegeneration has not been demonstrated. In addition, we discuss the role of electromagnetic radiation as a potential non-invasive therapeutic strategy for some neurodegenerative diseases, particularly for PD and AD.

KEYWORDS: Alzheimer’s disease; Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; Electromagnetic fields; Neurodegenerative diseases; Parkinson’s disease

PMID: 32198562 DOI: 10.1007/s00484-020-01896-y

The role of magnetic fields in neurodegenerative diseases.