The effects of radio-frequency radiation (RFR) exposure on the analgesic efficacy of morphine in healthy rats and rats with inflammation

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study, conducted at the Military Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology in Warsaw in 2017, was to evaluate the effects of a single (15 min) and repeated (5 times for 15 min) radio-frequency radiation (RFR) exposure of 1800 MHz frequency on the analgesic efficacy of morphine in healthy rats and rats with complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) induced inflammation. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Rats were injected intraperitoneally with morphine (MF) in the dose of 8 mg/kg or drug vehicle 15 min before RFR exposure. The authors used the plantar analgesia meter and the radiant heat paw-withdrawal test to assess the pain threshold. RESULTS: A single RFR exposure slightly influenced paw withdrawal latency (PWL) in healthy rats in the single exposure baseline group, and influenced PWL, 30 and 60 min after morphine or vehicle injection, in the repeated exposure group. There were differences between the sham-exposed groups (vehicle), 30, 60 and 90 min after injection, both in the single and repeated RFR-exposure groups. The antinociceptive effect of morphine in healthy rats was slightly decreased by RFR exposure at 60 and 90 min, both in the single and repeated exposure groups. The PWL was slightly decreased, both in the single and repeated exposure groups with inflammation (CFA and CFA/MF), at 30, 60 and 90 min, and PWL was increased in the sham-exposed groups (CFA and CFA/MF), both in the single and repeated exposure groups, at 30, 60 and 90 min. The antinociceptive effect of morphine in healthy rats was significantly increased by RFR exposure at 30 min after drug injection in the single exposure group, and increased at 30 and 60 min in the repeated exposure group. CONCLUSIONS: The authors observed a minor influence of RFR exposure on the antinociceptive effects of morphine in healthy rats after repeated exposures and a statistically significant influence of repeated exposure on morphine mediated antinociceptive effects in the inflammation group. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2019;32(4):465-74.