asthma

By Angela Olstad, Mindoro Fourth Grade Teacher/Building Principal

Chronic inflammation and free radicals

The normal inflammatory response is, in part, a burst of free radicals produced by the immune system in response to an injury. This natural production of free radicals occurs to prevent infection and to promote healing at a site of injury.

In simple terms, a free radical is an electrically charged particle. This electrical charge occurs because the free radical is missing an electron. To become stabilized, a free radical must “steal” its missing electron from another molecule. When the electron is stolen from an invader (e.g., bacteria), the invader’s molecular structure is damaged, which leads to its death (as intended by the immune system). When there are no invaders left to destroy and when there is a lack of electrons available from antioxidants to stabilize excess free radicals, free radicals then turn to the only other source from which they can steal electrons – healthy cells. The resulting damage to and death of healthy cells, from loss of electrons to free radicals, further signals the immune system for additional help. This sets up a continuous autoimmune response (creating more free radicals), which promotes chronic inflammation and tissue damage, commonly referred to as oxidative stress.

Since it has been found that electromagnetic fields can affect health, researchers have investigated these phenomena in vivo and in vitro, in animals^10,11,12 and humans.^{1,2,3,4,5,6,7} No individual had been specifically challenged in an attempt to reproduce acute symptoms until Smith and Monro⁵ followed by Choy, Monro, and Smith,⁸ who used a series of oscillators of varying frequency to trigger symptoms in electrically sensitive patients. We modified this procedure by developing controlled environmental area,

Phase II — Single-blind Challenge of 100 Patients

No. of Patients

No. of Active Challenges

No. of Blank Challenges

Positive Reactions to Active Challenges

Positive Reactions to Blanks

William J. Rea, MD, FACS
Environmental Health Center, Dallas
8345 Walnut Hill Lane_, Suite 205
Dallas, TX 75231

Yaqin Pan, MD
Dept. of Allergy, Beijing Union Medical College Hospital Beijing, PRC

Ervin J. Yenyves, PhD
Dept. of Physics, University of Texas at Dallas

Iehiko Sujisawa, MD. and Hideo Suyama, MD
Dept. of Ophthamology, Kitasato University Kitasato, Japan

Interaction mechanisms that underlie the health and biological effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF) on humans have been studied by many authors.^1,2,3,4,5,6 This subject was reviewed recently at the 1990 spring meeting of the American Physical Society .⁷ Choy et. al.⁸ investigated individuals with multiple sensitivities who reported reactions to various types of electrical equipment, including power lines, electronic office equipment such as typewriters and computer terminals, video display terminals, household

• Phase I.
  The EMF measurements were quite reproducible. We found that the lights. and air handling equipment had to be off during the tests because of their electromagnetic field output. Baseline studies on patients were completed without remarkable result.
• Phase II.

Abstract

A multiphase study was performed to find an effective method to evaluate electromagnetic field (EMF) sensitivity of patients. The first phase developed criteria for controlled testing using an environment low in chemical, particulate, and EMF pollution.

1. Ravitz, L. J. (1982). History, measurement, and applicability of periodic changes in the electromagnetic field in health and disease. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci., 98, 1144-1201.
2. Wever, R. A. (1973). Human circadian rhythms under the influence of weak electric fields and the different aspects of these studies. Int. J. Biometeor., 17, 227-232.
3. Smith, C. W. (1985). Superconducting areas in living systems. In R. K. Mishra (Ed.), The living state II (pp. 404-420). Singapore: World Scientific.