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Cell phone radiation during pregnancy could damage unborn babies: study

Are you concerned about cell phone radiation or do you think the recent slew of media attention on the issue is simply hype?

Well, the latest research from Yale University suggests cell phone radiation could affect the brain development of unborn babies and potentially lead to hyperactivity and behavioural disorders.

Mice that were exposed to radiation from a mobile phone while still in their mother's womb tended to be more hyperactive and had reduced memory capacity, according to the study performed at the Yale School of Medicine.

"We have shown that behavioral problems in mice that resemble ADHD are caused by cell phone exposure in the womb," said Dr. Hugh S. Taylor, a professor in Yale's Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, in a statement.

Related: Youngest kids in grade more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD

But do the results apply to humans? Maybe.

"The rise in behavioral disorders in human children may be in part due to fetal cellular telephone irradiation exposure," he said.

Diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, has increased at an average rate of 3% per year since 1997, according to the Telegraph. The disorder, characterized by inattention, hyperactivity and impulsiveness, now affects between three and seven percent of school-age children.

While Taylor said that follow-up studies in humans are needed to establish safe exposure limits during pregnancy, he said limiting exposure of the fetus seems warranted.

During the study, the researchers placed a muted, silenced mobile phone above a cage containing pregnant mice. After those fetuses were fully-grown, Taylor and his team conducted a battery of psychological and behavioral tests on them and compared the results to a control group.

Related: Childhood ADHD explained

Taylor suggests that the behavioural changes in the mice exposed to radiation was due to impaired development of neurons in the prefrontal cortex region of the brain, the same region associated with ADHD.

Other experts were quick to urge caution about the findings. ''Good animal data is of crucial importance as a starting point for human studies but should never be used as a basis for risk assessment in humans," Mischa de Rover, a psychologist at Leiden University in the Netherlands, told the Telegraph.

Last fall, Health Canada said parents should encourage children to limit the time they spend talking on cellphones, in response to pervasive, yet unproven, suggestions that they could increase the risk of developing brain cancer.