Cancer Calling

The question of whether or not cell phones cause cancer is not new. Until now we’ve shied away from reporting such stories because the debate literally has our brains buzzing and our pockets vibrating. Now however, after reviewing details from dozens of published studies, an international panel of experts says: yes – cell phones could cause cancer.

During a weeklong meeting, 31 experts from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reviewed possible links between cancer and the type of electromagnetic radiation found in cellphones, microwaves and radar. The agency has credibility and the ear of the world. As the cancer arm of the World Health Organization (WHO), their assessment will now be sent to the WHO and national health agencies for possible guidance on cellphone use. The group classified cellphones in category 2B, meaning they are possibly carcinogenic to humans. Other substances in that category include the pesticide DDT and gasoline engine exhaust.

These recent findings are at odds with the results of a large 2010 study that found no clear link between cellphones and cancer. But some advocacy groups contend the study raised serious concerns because it showed a hint of a possible connection between very heavy phone use and glioma, a rare but often deadly form of brain tumor. The study was controversial because it began with people who already had cancer and asked them to recall how often they used their cellphones more than a decade ago. In about 30 other studies done in Europe, New Zealand and the U.S., patients with brain tumors have not reported using their cellphones more often than unaffected people. Furthermore, because cellphones are so popular, it may be impossible for experts to compare cellphone users who develop brain tumors with people who don’t use the devices.

According to a survey last year, the number of cellphone subscribers worldwide has hit 5 billion, or nearly three-quarters of the global population. People’s cellphone habits have also changed dramatically since the first studies began years ago and it’s unclear if the results of previous research would still apply today.  Since many cancerous tumors take decades to develop, experts say it’s impossible to conclude cellphones have no long-term health risks. The studies conducted so far haven’t tracked people for longer than a decade.

However, before you throw away your phone it’s worth noting that in the past the IARC has given the same classification to pickled vegetables and coffee!

Multitasking as a Diagnostic Tool?

Here at Word on Health we’re used to doing a million things at once. So over the years, we’ve  heard most of the multitasking jokes. Admittedly we’ve chuckled at the male definition known as chewing gum and breaking wind at the same time.  We’ve even been known to smile when men ask, “if women are so good at multitasking why can’t they have sex and a headache at the same time?”

However, it turns out that it’s no laughing matter.

Scientists hope to use a simple multitasking challenge – walking and thinking at the same time –  to quickly screen individuals who may have suffered brain injuries. According to researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) asking an individual to walk a short distance while saying the months of the year in reverse order, can determine if that person is impaired and possibly suffering from a concussion.

This simple test involving radar, which could be performed on the sideline of a sporting event or on a battlefield, has the potential to help coaches and commanders decide if athletes and soldiers are ready to engage in activity again.

“When a person with a concussion performs cognitive and motor skill tasks simultaneously, they have a different gait pattern than a healthy individual, and we can identify those anomalies in a person’s walk with radar,” said GTRI research engineer Jennifer Palmer.

More than 1 million concussions and other mild traumatic brain injuries are reported each year in the United States.  Catching them right after they happen can improve treatment and prevent further injury or other long-term health issues. Diagnosing concussion can be difficult, though, because the symptoms are not always easily visible or detectable, even though they last for weeks or months following the incident.

While methods exist for detecting concussion, most focus purely on cognitive impairment and do not assess accompanying motor skill deterioration.

Details of GTRI’s technique, which simultaneously examines a person’s cognitive and motor skills, were presented on April 26 at the SPIE Defense, Security and Sensing conference in Orlando. Using radar for gait analysis would be faster and less intrusive than existing techniques. The assessment would be done with radar systems similar to those used by police for measuring the speed of vehicles.

The GTRI research team compared how 10 healthy individuals walked normally and when impaired. For the impairment scenario, individuals wore goggles that simulated alcohol impairment. Past research has shown that concussion impairment is equivalent to having a blood alcohol level of 0.05%.

Each individual performed four 30-second walking tasks: a normal walk, walk while saying the months of the year in reverse order, walk while wearing the goggles, and walk while wearing the goggles and performing the cognitive task. For each task, the subjects walked away from the radar system, turned around and walked back toward the radar system.

By looking for differences in the gait patterns of normal and impaired individuals, researchers found that healthy individuals could be distinguished from impaired individuals wearing the goggles. Healthy individuals demonstrated a more periodic gait with regular and higher velocity foot kicks and faster torso and head movement than impaired individuals when completing a cognitive task.

The results also indicated that if no cognitive task was performed, a healthy individual’s gait pattern was not statistically different when wearing and not wearing the goggles.

“We found that we needed to examine a person’s physical and mental capabilities at the same time to see a change in gait and detect impairment,” said research engineer Kristin Bing. “It’s easy for a person to concentrate on one task, but when that person has to multitask we can begin to discriminate between someone who is impaired and someone who is not.”

In the future, the researchers plan to reduce the size of the system so that it becomes more practical to use.

Although approval from the Food and Drug Administration will be required before this system can be used to diagnose concussion, seems this multitasking tool is no joke.