Combined Effects of Anticholinesterase Drugs and Low-Level Microwave Radiation

Rats administered an anticholinesterase drug (phospholine iodide) and exposed 10 min later to a pulsed microwave irradiation with an average power density of 10 mW/ cm2 for 10 min showed a statistically significant decrease in body temperature when compared to various control groups. The enhancement of hypothermia in the presence of low-level microwave irradiation was also observed when rats were injected with another powerful inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase, paraoxon, and with 2-pyridine aldoxime methyl methanesulfonate, an antidote against anticholinesterase poisoning. The effect from the combination of microwave and anticholinesterase drugs may potentially be used as a tool to study effects of low-power density microwave fields on biological systems.