https://eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-08/uoc–rld082918.php
Researcher links diplomats’ mystery illness
to radiofrequency/microwave radiation
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA – SAN DIEGO
IMAGE: THIS IS BEATRICE GOLOMB, MD, PHD,
PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE AT UC SAN DIEGO
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE. view more
CREDIT: UC SAN DIEGO HEALTH
Writing in advance of the September 15 issue of Neural Computation, Beatrice Golomb, MD, PhD,
professor of medicine at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, says publicly
reported symptoms and experiences of a “mystery illness” aicting
American and Canadian
diplomats in Cuba and China strongly match known eects
of pulsed radiofrequency/microwave
electromagnetic (RF/MW) radiation.
Her conclusions, she said, may aid in the treatment of the diplomats (and aected
family members)
and assist U.S. government agencies seeking to determine the precise cause. More broadly, Golomb
said her research draws attention to a larger population of people who are aected
by similar
health problems.
“I looked at what’s known about pulsed RF/MW in relation to diplomats’ experiences,” said Golomb.
“Everything ts.
The specics
of the varied sounds that the diplomats reported hearing during the
apparent inciting episodes, such as chirping, ringing and buzzing, cohere in detail with known
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properties of so-called ‘microwave hearing,’ also known as the Frey eect.
“And the symptoms that emerged t,
including the dominance of sleep problems, headaches and
cognitive issues, as well as the distinctive prominence of auditory symptoms. Even objective ndings
reported on brain imaging t
with what has been reported for persons aected
by RF/MW
radiation.”
Beginning in 2016, personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba (as well as Canadian diplomats
and family members) described hearing strange sounds, followed by development of an array of
symptoms. The source of the health problems has not been determined. Though some ocials
and
media have described the events as “sonic attacks,” some experts on sound have rejected this
explanation. In May of this year, the State Department reported that U.S. government employees in
Guangzhou, China had also experienced similar sounds and health problems.
Aected
diplomats and family members from both locations were medically evacuated to the U.S.
for treatment, but despite multiple government investigations, an ocial
explanation of events and
subsequent illnesses has not been announced. At least two early published studies examining
available data were inconclusive.
In her paper, scheduled to be published September 15 in Neural Computation, Golomb compared
rates of described symptoms among diplomats with a published 2012 study of symptoms reported
by people aected
by electromagnetic radiation in Japan. By and large, she said the cited symptoms
— headache, cognitive problems, sleep issues, irritability, nervousness or anxiety, dizziness and
tinnitus (ringing in the ears) — occurred at strikingly similar rates.
Some diplomats reported hearing loss. That symptom was not assessed in both studies so rates
could not be compared, but Golomb said it is widely reported in both conditions. She also noted
that previous brain imaging research in persons aected
by RF/ EMR “showed evidence of traumatic
brain injury, paralleling reports in diplomats.”
David O. Carpenter, MD, is director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University
of Albany, part of the State University of New York. He was not involved in Golomb’s study. He said
evidence cited by Golomb illustrates “microwave hearing,” which results “from heating induced in
tissue, which causes ‘waves’ in the ear and results in clicks and other sounds.” Reported symptoms,
he said, characterize the syndrome of electrohypersensitivity (EHS), in which unusual exposure to
radiofrequency radiation can trigger symptoms in vulnerable persons that may be permanent and
disabling.
“We have seen this before when the Soviets irradiated the U.S. Embassy in Moscow
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Golomb, whose undergraduate degree was in physics, conducts research investigating the
relationship of oxidative stress and mitochondrial function — mechanisms shown to be involved
with RF/EMR injury — to health, aging, behavior and illness. Her work is wide-ranging, with published
studies on Gulf War illness, statins, antibiotic toxicity, ALS, autism and the health eects
of
chocolate and trans fats, with a secondary interest in research methods, including placebos.
Golomb said an analysis of 100 studies examining whether low-level RF produced oxidative injury
found that 93 studies concluded that it did. Oxidative injury or stress arises when there is an
imbalance between the production of reactive oxygen species (free radicals) and the body’s
detoxifying antioxidant defenses. Oxidative stress has been linked to a range of diseases and
conditions, from Alzheimer’s disease, autism and depression to cancer and chronic fatigue
syndrome, as well as toxic eects
linked to certain drugs and chemicals. More to the point, Golomb
said, oxidative injury has been linked to the symptoms and conditions reported in diplomats.
The health consequences of RF/MW exposure is a matter of on-going debate. Some government
agencies, such as the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Cancer
Institute, publicly assert that low- to mid-frequency, non-ionizing radiation like those from
microwaves and RF is generally harmless. They cite studies that have found no conclusive link
between exposure and harm.
But others, including researchers like Golomb, dispute that conclusion, noting that many of the noharm
studies were funded by vested industries or had other conicts
of interest. She said
independent studies over decades have reported biological eects
and harms to health from
nonionizing radiation, specically
RF/MW radiation, including via oxidative stress and downstream
mechanisms, such as inammation,
autoimmune activation and mitochondrial injury.
Golomb compared the situation to persons with peanut allergies: Most people do not experience
any adverse eect
from peanut exposure, but for a vulnerable subgroup, exposure produces
negative, even life-threatening, consequences.
In her analysis, Golomb concludes that “of hypotheses tendered to date, (RF/MW exposure) alone
ts
the facts, including the peculiar ones” regarding events in Cuba and China. She said her ndings
advocate for more robust attention to pulsed RF/MW and associated adverse health eects.
“The focus must be on research by parties free from ties to vested interests. Such research is
needed not only to explain and address the symptoms in diplomats, but also for the benet
of the
small fraction – but large number — of persons outside the diplomatic corps, who are beset by
similar problems.”
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This study was unfunded.
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