Re: Olle Johansson and the immune theory: The only thing that links us?

[Guest guest]

About what I posed at:

http://www.milieuziektes.nl/Pagina111.html

Olle Johansson wrote me:

These are very good points, dear .

Best regards

Yours

Olle

Greetings,

Claessens

member Verband Baubiologie

www.milieuziektes.nl

www.milieuziektes.be

www.hetbitje.nl

checked by Norton

Olle Johansson and the immune theory: The only thing that

links us?

In recent days I again came across the story, mentioned here before, about

Olle Johansson, the Swedish professor (who has arguably been the leading

researcher on Electrosensitive people anywhere- of the very few out there!), who

is being evicted from his research laboratory soon. Now, I had seen his piece

before in the Bioiniative report relating to the immune system and EHS, but I

never gave his papers a proper going over. So I went and looked up a paper of

his on Electrosensitivity, similar to the Bioinitiative piece, referenced and

linked at the bottom [1], to give it a more thorough read.

For those that haven't seen it, in the paper he basically hypothesises that

" EMFs disturb immune function through stimulation of various allergic and

inflammatory responses " ; after testing electrosensitive people, he found a very

high number of certain cells involved in the immune response, predominantly mast

cells, and also dendritic cells. The mast cells can release inflammatory

substances such as histamine that can result in the sensation of itch and pain,

and other skin effects such as edema, and erythema. He also put forward that the

dendritic cells may give rise to " subjective sensations of ongoing inflammation

and sensitivity to light. "

Now, the thing is, these cells are found throughout the body, such as the

gastrointestinal tract and bone marrow. So, I just wondered if it may be a

possible explanation for symptoms EHS sufferers have had relating to gut pain

and joint pain.

I know others have put forward the immune system as a cause of EHS before, and

I have mentioned it in previous posts, and I don't want to bang on about it

given that others feel that the cause lies elsewhere, but It's just I came

across some interesting stuff relating to the immune system in recent days,

having given it some proper research for the first time.

Another reason that prompted me to look up immune related stuff is that one of

my main EHS symptoms is canker sores on the gums and tongue, those nasty

white/red spots and blisters that some of you may have had previously. I only

ever get these when having strong exposure to Electromagnetic Radiation such as

strong wireless areas, and it happened me again last week. I can feel the pain

in my gums beginning and building, and I know the canker sores usually develop

in the following 24 hours.

So I went researching if there was any relation between canker sores and the

immune system, and I encountered research papers looking at people who get

canker sores a lot (a disease termed " recurrent aphthous ulcerations " (RAU)).

And it seems that an overreactive immune system could be the main problem,

caused by an imbalance of cytokines, proteins that mediate and regulate the

immune response. The research talked of how a balance of pro- and anti-

inflammatory cytokines is crucial in determination of immune activation and

tolerance, and it bound that with the canker sore problem, there is a

predominance of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Thus the immune system overacts and

it leads to inflammation problems. So, like Johansson's piece, inflammation and

immune over-reaction seems to be the culprit of another of my EHS symptoms.

So then I looked up cytokines and Electromagnetic Fields, and I came across

research that shows certain Electromagnetic Fields can cause an increase in

pro-inflammatory cytokines [2][3].

I also went back looking at the chapter in the Bioninitiative report [4]

relating to the effects of EMF on stress proteins. This paper [5], from the same

author as the Bioinitiative piece, gives a summary, with the main finding being

that EM fields can stimulate the synthesis of stress proteins indicating that

cells view EM fields as potentially harmful, rather than benign.

Now, quite a few people on this forum in the past seemed to complain of some

form of hormonal problem, and often adrenal-related. Chronic stress, be it from

psychological/environmental/other factors, can cause major hormonal system

problems and this can have a major effect on the immune system. Having looked up

research, people putting forward models of how the immune system was affected by

chronic stress had to deal with the paradox that chronic stress has been

associated with inadequate immunity (e.g. infectious disease) and disease

outcomes associated with excessive immunity (e.g. allergic and autoimmune

disease). And to get over this paradox, I found that much recent research has

looked at how chronic stress elicits simultaneous enhancement and suppression of

the immune response by altering patterns of cytokine secretion. (Again,

cytokines has popped up). Again, there is an imbalance of pro- and anti-

inflammatory cytokines, with increased production of proinflammatory cytokines

being the main problem. [6][7]

So stress from emfs could enhance these proinflammatory cytokines also.

I have also come across papers relating to negative effects of ELFs on the

thymus, a major component of the immune system[8][9]. Johansson also assessed

some thymus and other ELF-related papers, including ones relating to oxygen free

radicals, which has been put forward by some on this forum as a possible cause

of EHS. In a paper by Simkó and Mattsson [10] that Johansson mentions, they look

at how increased free radical levels can potentially be caused by immune

response factors.

I have also come across stuff relating heavy metal exposure to impaired

immunes system effects, with possible links again to cytokine imbalances [11].

Increased EHS effects during the day after excessive alcohol intake has also

being mentioned on this forum before; I have had this experience also in the

past, before I more or less gave up alcohol. Alcohol is known to suppress the

immune system.

So, I guess you can see what I am getting at. The immune system seems to be a

possible cause of many symptoms. Other symptoms, such as pulsation/throbbing in

head, cognitive problems, eye problems, etc may be put down to an

impaired/weakened immune system allowing the effects caused by cell-signal

interference, hormonal glands impairment, lens distortion, etc to occur?? Olle

Johansson also put forward that influenza-type symptoms suffered by some EHS

people may be due to over-stimulation of the immune system also.

So I guess some of the effects that I've been talking about could be

summarized as:

EMFs --> increased mast cell and dendritic cell secretion --> inflammation

effects

Chronic Stress --> immune impairment through pro- /anti- inflammatory cytokine

imbalance-->inflammation

EMFs --> stress response chronically triggered --> Immune impairment -->

inflammation??

EMFs --> thymus impairment --> immune impairment

ELFs --> Immune-induced free radical formation --> DNA damage

Heavy metal problems --> immune system impairment --> Electrosensitivity

Those who put forward that a health problem, such as heavy metal poisoning, is

the cause of their electrosensitivity may ultimately be right, but it would seem

that it occurs through the mechanism of the immune system.

So what I'm getting at is: should electrosensitive people, whether they

believe in it fully or not, put forward the " immune system impairment " theory by

Johansson as the main cause of electrosensitivity? Instead of being a group with

any number of disparate symptoms and causes put forward, our cause may gain

credence and have a glimmer of making a change if we get behind a single focus

or whatever. There is enough research out there backing it, and I have only

spent a few hours looking in the last few days.

I think it was that said that the only way there will be change is if

enough physicians can be convinced, as politicians and others will strive to

stick to the status quo. If we can convince physicians that man-made electric

fields can impair the immune system and bring it down, that even though people

with underlying health problems are more susceptible, it can happen to healthy

people (as highlighted in the book mentioned here before " The Invisible Disease "

by the Swedish journalist Gunni Nordstrom, where dozens of engineers working

together for a telecommunications company became electrosensitive within months

of each other after a mast installation; I presume many of these were perfectly

healthy). That young kids and elderly people with weaker immune systems are more

susceptible. And that even if their immune system never fully becomes impaired

in their lifetime to become electrosensitive, it could still be impaired bit by

bit, enough to endanger people to the effects that have been put forward in many

research papers such as brain tumors, blood-brain barrier problems, etc. (you

could even mention ' immune system threshold to show that their immune

system or stress load threshold is being edged towards bit by bit over time).

Getting ordinary blood tests in a doctor's office or whatever to test immune

parameters isn't much good (although some may show up having problems). It seems

it is more to do with immune overreaction/inflammation/even autoimmune problem.

Tests performed like Olle Johansson's on mast cell and histamine effects is what

is needed, or other inflammation tests. There may be some element of autoimmune

effect or immune weakness that may be harder to test for.

It may still ultimately prove worthless, but getting behind the one cause may

have some effect. It's a shame that the likes of Olle Johansson is being shoved

to the side. There aren't many others backing our cause.

{Interestingly, for the effects mentioned by Johansson that are caused by

chemical release such as Histamine, there does seem to be anti-histamine drugs

being administered for other immune problems such as some forms of allergy and

autoimmune disease. I don't know if these could play some role in alleviating

some of the symptoms for those who are seriously debilitated by the

burning/smarting-type pains. They seem to have serious side-effects also. I

haven't really assessed them yet.]

[1] Johansson, Olle 2009. Disturbance of the immune system by electromagnetic

fields-A potentially underlying cause for cellular damage and tissue repair

reduction which could lead to disease and impairment. Pathophysiology 16 (2009)

157-177

[2] Cossarizza, , Stefano Angioni, Felice Petraglia, R.

Genazaani, a Monti, Miriam Capri, Ferdinando Bersani, Ruggero Cadossi and

Claudio Franceschi. 1993. Expolure to Low Frequency Pulsed Electromagnetic

Fields Increases Interleukin-1 and Interleukin-6 Production by Human Peripheral

Blood Mononuclear Cells. Experimental Cell Research: 204, 385-387 (1993)

[3] C. Aldinucci, G.P. Pessina, 1998. Electromagnetic fields enhance the

release of both interferon g and interleukin-6 by peripheral blood mononuclear

cells after phytohaemagglutinin stimulation. Bioelectrochemistry and

Bioenergetics 44 1998 243-249

[4] C.F. Blackman, M. Blank, M.Kundi, C. Sage, D.O. Carpenter, Z.Davanipour,

D. Gee, L. Hardell, O. Johansson, H. Lai, K.H. Mild, A. Sage, E.L. Sobel, Z. Xu,

G. Chen, The Bioinitiative Report-A Rationale for a Biologically-based Public

Exposure Standard for Electromagnetic Fields (ELF and RF),

http://www.bioinitiative.org, 2007.

[5] REBA GOODMAN AND MARTIN BLANK, 2002. Insights Into Electromagnetic

Interaction Mechanisms. JOURNAL OF CELLULAR PHYSIOLOGY 192:16-22 (2002)

[6] Theodore F. Robles, Glaser, and Janice K. Kiecolt-Glaser, 2005.

Out of Balance: A New Look at Chronic Stress, Depression, and Immunity, CURRENT

DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Volume 14-Number 2

[7] E. , and Suzanne C. Segerstrom. Psychological Stress and the

Human Immune System: A Meta-Analytic Study of 30 Years of Inquiry. Psychological

Bulletin 2004, Vol. 130, No. 4, 601-630

[8] V. M. BOGOLYUBOV, S. M. ZUBKOVA, I. D. FRENKEL, Z. A. SOKOLOVA, AND I. B.

LAPRUN, 1988. The Functional State of Thymus Cells following Microwave Exposure

of Endocrine Glands. RADIATION RESEARCH 115, 44-53 (1988)

[9] Sun X, Zhang WH, Niu YJ, Zeng M, Hou YC, Wang XR, . Effects of microwave

radiation on thymocytes in mice at different power densities. Department of

Occupational Health, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050017, China

[10] M. Simkó, M.O. Mattsson, 2004. Extremely low frequency electromagnetic

fields as effectors of cellular responses in vitro: possible immune cell

activation, J. Cell. Biochem. 93 (2004) 83-92.

[11] Bruce D. Forrest. Environmental Contaminants and the Immune System,

Blacksmithinstitute www.blacksmithinstitute.org

------------------------------------

[Guest guest]

Hi, , 

 

You have done alot of really great (re)search here.  I do want to comment on

one thing....  I do not personally see a conflict with the various theories put

forward on the cause(s) of ES. 

 

When Marc says metal toxicity causes ES, that is true.  When you say cytokines

and immune system dysfunction causes ES, that also is true.  When I say ES is

due to tight junctions and ion channelopathy, which is likely genetic, this can

also be true.  These all come together into a neat package, if you continue

researching and pulling the loose ends. 

 

You have found the same/ similar things as I and Snoshoe and others here have

found when we went looking.  (You have laid it out better for others to follow,

I must say!  I am impressed!)  I see no problem with your immune system

approach, however, there will still be doctors and critics who will nit-pick at

the loose ends.  So none will be satisfied until the total sum is known,

unfortunately.  But I do think we will soon begin to see research targeted at

the tight junction end of this.  Because, right now, tj research is the cutting

edge of what is news, medically.  So, tho this angle is little understood

presently, it is an ever-expanding area of study.  This makes it all the more

likely someone will pick us up as a subject of study.  I can only hope this is

soon. 

 

What distresses me, tho, is even when research is done on this and conclusions

are conclusive, the press turns this info into questionable news.  An example

of this is the recent headlines on cell phones being bad for your health. 

This is a by-gone conclusion in research circles that cell phones contribute to

cancers.  However, the news played the story as tho it was a possibe cause that

bears more looking into.  Our news in this country is dumbed down and sanitized

by corporations and govt types who want an agenda.  As long as this is the

case, we will have problems getting anywhere.  We can only hope that our

adversaries get a rude wake-up call themselves, because they seem quite

unconcerned about their progeny or the future of this world on more levels than

just an electro-magnetic one! 

 

I hope Dr Johannsen can continue his work.  Maybe we could support him if a

foundation were set up for him and others researching ES.  I haven't time to do

this personally, but surely there is someone out there who could!?!  If such a

foundation already exists I would like to know. 

 

My 2 cents,

Diane

From: seandaly33 <seandaly33@...>

Subject: Olle Johansson and the immune theory: The only thing that links

us?

Date: Saturday, June 25, 2011, 12:46 PM

 

In recent days I again came across the story, mentioned here before, about Olle

Johansson, the Swedish professor (who has arguably been the leading researcher

on Electrosensitive people anywhere- of the very few out there!), who is being

evicted from his research laboratory soon. Now, I had seen his piece before in

the Bioiniative report relating to the immune system and EHS, but I never gave

his papers a proper going over. So I went and looked up a paper of his on

Electrosensitivity, similar to the Bioinitiative piece, referenced and linked at

the bottom [1], to give it a more thorough read.

For those that haven't seen it, in the paper he basically hypothesises that

" EMFs disturb immune function through stimulation of various allergic and

inflammatory responses " ; after testing electrosensitive people, he found a very

high number of certain cells involved in the immune response, predominantly mast

cells, and also dendritic cells. The mast cells can release inflammatory

substances such as histamine that can result in the sensation of itch and pain,

and other skin effects such as edema, and erythema. He also put forward that the

dendritic cells may give rise to " subjective sensations of ongoing inflammation

and sensitivity to light. "

Now, the thing is, these cells are found throughout the body, such as the

gastrointestinal tract and bone marrow. So, I just wondered if it may be a

possible explanation for symptoms EHS sufferers have had relating to gut pain

and joint pain.

I know others have put forward the immune system as a cause of EHS before, and I

have mentioned it in previous posts, and I don't want to bang on about it given

that others feel that the cause lies elsewhere, but It's just I came across some

interesting stuff relating to the immune system in recent days, having given it

some proper research for the first time.

Another reason that prompted me to look up immune related stuff is that one of

my main EHS symptoms is canker sores on the gums and tongue, those nasty

white/red spots and blisters that some of you may have had previously. I only

ever get these when having strong exposure to Electromagnetic Radiation such as

strong wireless areas, and it happened me again last week. I can feel the pain

in my gums beginning and building, and I know the canker sores usually develop

in the following 24 hours.

So I went researching if there was any relation between canker sores and the

immune system, and I encountered research papers looking at people who get

canker sores a lot (a disease termed " recurrent aphthous ulcerations " (RAU)).

And it seems that an overreactive immune system could be the main problem,

caused by an imbalance of cytokines, proteins that mediate and regulate the

immune response. The research talked of how a balance of pro- and anti-

inflammatory cytokines is crucial in determination of immune activation and

tolerance, and it bound that with the canker sore problem, there is a

predominance of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Thus the immune system overacts and

it leads to inflammation problems. So, like Johansson's piece, inflammation and

immune over-reaction seems to be the culprit of another of my EHS symptoms.

So then I looked up cytokines and Electromagnetic Fields, and I came across

research that shows certain Electromagnetic Fields can cause an increase in

pro-inflammatory cytokines [2][3].

I also went back looking at the chapter in the Bioninitiative report [4]

relating to the effects of EMF on stress proteins. This paper [5], from the same

author as the Bioinitiative piece, gives a summary, with the main finding being

that EM fields can stimulate the synthesis of stress proteins indicating that

cells view EM fields as potentially harmful, rather than benign.

Now, quite a few people on this forum in the past seemed to complain of some

form of hormonal problem, and often adrenal-related. Chronic stress, be it from

psychological/environmental/other factors, can cause major hormonal system

problems and this can have a major effect on the immune system. Having looked up

research, people putting forward models of how the immune system was affected by

chronic stress had to deal with the paradox that chronic stress has been

associated with inadequate immunity (e.g. infectious disease) and disease

outcomes associated with excessive immunity (e.g. allergic and autoimmune

disease). And to get over this paradox, I found that much recent research has

looked at how chronic stress elicits simultaneous enhancement and suppression of

the immune response by altering patterns of cytokine secretion. (Again,

cytokines has popped up). Again, there is an imbalance of pro- and anti-

inflammatory cytokines, with increased production

of proinflammatory cytokines being the main problem. [6][7]

So stress from emfs could enhance these proinflammatory cytokines also.

I have also come across papers relating to negative effects of ELFs on the

thymus, a major component of the immune system[8][9]. Johansson also assessed

some thymus and other ELF-related papers, including ones relating to oxygen free

radicals, which has been put forward by some on this forum as a possible cause

of EHS. In a paper by Simkó and Mattsson [10] that Johansson mentions, they

look at how increased free radical levels can potentially be caused by immune

response factors.

I have also come across stuff relating heavy metal exposure to impaired immunes

system effects, with possible links again to cytokine imbalances [11].

Increased EHS effects during the day after excessive alcohol intake has also

being mentioned on this forum before; I have had this experience also in the

past, before I more or less gave up alcohol. Alcohol is known to suppress the

immune system.

So, I guess you can see what I am getting at. The immune system seems to be a

possible cause of many symptoms. Other symptoms, such as pulsation/throbbing in

head, cognitive problems, eye problems, etc may be put down to an

impaired/weakened immune system allowing the effects caused by cell-signal

interference, hormonal glands impairment, lens distortion, etc to occur?? Olle

Johansson also put forward that influenza-type symptoms suffered by some EHS

people may be due to over-stimulation of the immune system also.

So I guess some of the effects that I've been talking about could be summarized

as:

EMFs --> increased mast cell and dendritic cell secretion --> inflammation

effects

Chronic Stress --> immune impairment through pro- /anti- inflammatory cytokine

imbalance-->inflammation

EMFs --> stress response chronically triggered --> Immune impairment -->

inflammation??

EMFs --> thymus impairment --> immune impairment

ELFs --> Immune-induced free radical formation --> DNA damage

Heavy metal problems --> immune system impairment --> Electrosensitivity

Those who put forward that a health problem, such as heavy metal poisoning, is

the cause of their electrosensitivity may ultimately be right, but it would seem

that it occurs through the mechanism of the immune system.

So what I'm getting at is: should electrosensitive people, whether they believe

in it fully or not, put forward the " immune system impairment " theory by

Johansson as the main cause of electrosensitivity? Instead of being a group with

any number of disparate symptoms and causes put forward, our cause may gain

credence and have a glimmer of making a change if we get behind a single focus

or whatever. There is enough research out there backing it, and I have only

spent a few hours looking in the last few days.

I think it was that said that the only way there will be change is if

enough physicians can be convinced, as politicians and others will strive to

stick to the status quo. If we can convince physicians that man-made electric

fields can impair the immune system and bring it down, that even though people

with underlying health problems are more susceptible, it can happen to healthy

people (as highlighted in the book mentioned here before " The Invisible Disease "

by the Swedish journalist Gunni Nordstrom, where dozens of engineers working

together for a telecommunications company became electrosensitive within months

of each other after a mast installation; I presume many of these were perfectly

healthy). That young kids and elderly people with weaker immune systems are more

susceptible. And that even if their immune system never fully becomes impaired

in their lifetime to become electrosensitive, it could still be impaired bit by

bit, enough to

endanger people to the effects that have been put forward in many research

papers such as brain tumors, blood-brain barrier problems, etc. (you could even

mention ' immune system threshold to show that their immune system or

stress load threshold is being edged towards bit by bit over time). Getting

ordinary blood tests in a doctor's office or whatever to test immune parameters

isn't much good (although some may show up having problems). It seems it is more

to do with immune overreaction/inflammation/even autoimmune problem. Tests

performed like Olle Johansson's on mast cell and histamine effects is what is

needed, or other inflammation tests. There may be some element of autoimmune

effect or immune weakness that may be harder to test for.

It may still ultimately prove worthless, but getting behind the one cause may

have some effect. It's a shame that the likes of Olle Johansson is being shoved

to the side. There aren't many others backing our cause.

{Interestingly, for the effects mentioned by Johansson that are caused by

chemical release such as Histamine, there does seem to be anti-histamine drugs

being administered for other immune problems such as some forms of allergy and

autoimmune disease. I don't know if these could play some role in alleviating

some of the symptoms for those who are seriously debilitated by the

burning/smarting-type pains. They seem to have serious side-effects also. I

haven't really assessed them yet.]

[1] Johansson, Olle 2009. Disturbance of the immune system by electromagnetic

fields—A potentially underlying cause for cellular damage and tissue repair

reduction which could lead to disease and impairment. Pathophysiology 16 (2009)

157–177

[2] Cossarizza, , Stefano Angioni, Felice Petraglia, R. Genazaani,

a Monti, Miriam Capri, Ferdinando Bersani, Ruggero Cadossi and Claudio

Franceschi. 1993. Expolure to Low Frequency Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields

Increases Interleukin-1 and Interleukin-6 Production by Human Peripheral Blood

Mononuclear Cells. Experimental Cell Research: 204, 385-387 (1993)

[3] C. Aldinucci, G.P. Pessina, 1998. Electromagnetic fields enhance the release

of both interferon g and interleukin-6 by peripheral blood mononuclear cells

after phytohaemagglutinin stimulation. Bioelectrochemistry and Bioenergetics 44

1998 243–249

[4] C.F. Blackman, M. Blank, M.Kundi, C. Sage, D.O. Carpenter, Z.Davanipour, D.

Gee, L. Hardell, O. Johansson, H. Lai, K.H. Mild, A. Sage, E.L. Sobel, Z. Xu, G.

Chen, The Bioinitiative Report—A Rationale for a Biologically-based Public

Exposure Standard for Electromagnetic Fields (ELF and RF),

http://www.bioinitiative.org, 2007.

[5] REBA GOODMAN AND MARTIN BLANK, 2002. Insights Into Electromagnetic

Interaction Mechanisms. JOURNAL OF CELLULAR PHYSIOLOGY 192:16–22 (2002)

[6] Theodore F. Robles, Glaser, and Janice K. Kiecolt-Glaser, 2005. Out

of Balance: A New Look at Chronic Stress, Depression, and Immunity, CURRENT

DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Volume 14—Number 2

[7] E. , and Suzanne C. Segerstrom. Psychological Stress and the

Human Immune System: A Meta-Analytic Study of 30 Years of Inquiry. Psychological

Bulletin 2004, Vol. 130, No. 4, 601–630

[8] V. M. BOGOLYUBOV, S. M. ZUBKOVA, I. D. FRENKEL, Z. A. SOKOLOVA, AND I. B.

LAPRUN, 1988. The Functional State of Thymus Cells following Microwave Exposure

of Endocrine Glands. RADIATION RESEARCH 115, 44-53 (1988)

[9] Sun X, Zhang WH, Niu YJ, Zeng M, Hou YC, Wang XR, . Effects of microwave

radiation on thymocytes in mice at different power densities. Department of

Occupational Health, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050017, China

[10] M. Simkó, M.O. Mattsson, 2004. Extremely low frequency electromagnetic

fields as effectors of cellular responses in vitro: possible immune cell

activation, J. Cell. Biochem. 93 (2004) 83–92.

[11] Bruce D. Forrest. Environmental Contaminants and the Immune System,

Blacksmithinstitute www.blacksmithinstitute.org

[Guest guest]

Hello Diane,

Yes, a foundation that could supply funds for the likes of Dr. Johansson would

be ideal, but that is easier said than done. Funding is hard to find for

research of this kind. I came across this piece on another electromagnetic

radiation researcher, Dr. Henry Lai, who has well known papers on blood brain

barrier problems with mobile phone radiation. He was struggling for research

funds years ago and got some money from a millionaire who was having problems

with a council who were erecting mobile phone masts:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0WVI/is_1999_Sept_27/ai_55979379/

I don't know how long that funding lasted!

I don't know how we could go about searching for foundation funds; we would

definitely be up against it.

Regards,

.

>

>

> From: seandaly33 <seandaly33@...>

> Subject: Olle Johansson and the immune theory: The only thing that

links us?

>

> Date: Saturday, June 25, 2011, 12:46 PM

>

>

>  

>

>

>

>

> In recent days I again came across the story, mentioned here before, about

Olle Johansson, the Swedish professor (who has arguably been the leading

researcher on Electrosensitive people anywhere- of the very few out there!), who

is being evicted from his research laboratory soon. Now, I had seen his piece

before in the Bioiniative report relating to the immune system and EHS, but I

never gave his papers a proper going over. So I went and looked up a paper of

his on Electrosensitivity, similar to the Bioinitiative piece, referenced and

linked at the bottom [1], to give it a more thorough read.

>

> For those that haven't seen it, in the paper he basically hypothesises that

" EMFs disturb immune function through stimulation of various allergic and

inflammatory responses " ; after testing electrosensitive people, he found a very

high number of certain cells involved in the immune response, predominantly mast

cells, and also dendritic cells. The mast cells can release inflammatory

substances such as histamine that can result in the sensation of itch and pain,

and other skin effects such as edema, and erythema. He also put forward that the

dendritic cells may give rise to " subjective sensations of ongoing inflammation

and sensitivity to light. "

>

> Now, the thing is, these cells are found throughout the body, such as the

gastrointestinal tract and bone marrow. So, I just wondered if it may be a

possible explanation for symptoms EHS sufferers have had relating to gut pain

and joint pain.

>

> I know others have put forward the immune system as a cause of EHS before, and

I have mentioned it in previous posts, and I don't want to bang on about it

given that others feel that the cause lies elsewhere, but It's just I came

across some interesting stuff relating to the immune system in recent days,

having given it some proper research for the first time.

>

> Another reason that prompted me to look up immune related stuff is that one of

my main EHS symptoms is canker sores on the gums and tongue, those nasty

white/red spots and blisters that some of you may have had previously. I only

ever get these when having strong exposure to Electromagnetic Radiation such as

strong wireless areas, and it happened me again last week. I can feel the pain

in my gums beginning and building, and I know the canker sores usually develop

in the following 24 hours.

>

> So I went researching if there was any relation between canker sores and the

immune system, and I encountered research papers looking at people who get

canker sores a lot (a disease termed " recurrent aphthous ulcerations " (RAU)).

And it seems that an overreactive immune system could be the main problem,

caused by an imbalance of cytokines, proteins that mediate and regulate the

immune response. The research talked of how a balance of pro- and anti-

inflammatory cytokines is crucial in determination of immune activation and

tolerance, and it bound that with the canker sore problem, there is a

predominance of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Thus the immune system overacts and

it leads to inflammation problems. So, like Johansson's piece, inflammation and

immune over-reaction seems to be the culprit of another of my EHS symptoms.

>

> So then I looked up cytokines and Electromagnetic Fields, and I came across

research that shows certain Electromagnetic Fields can cause an increase in

pro-inflammatory cytokines [2][3].

>

> I also went back looking at the chapter in the Bioninitiative report [4]

relating to the effects of EMF on stress proteins. This paper [5], from the same

author as the Bioinitiative piece, gives a summary, with the main finding being

that EM fields can stimulate the synthesis of stress proteins indicating that

cells view EM fields as potentially harmful, rather than benign.

>

> Now, quite a few people on this forum in the past seemed to complain of some

form of hormonal problem, and often adrenal-related. Chronic stress, be it from

psychological/environmental/other factors, can cause major hormonal system

problems and this can have a major effect on the immune system. Having looked up

research, people putting forward models of how the immune system was affected by

chronic stress had to deal with the paradox that chronic stress has been

associated with inadequate immunity (e.g. infectious disease) and disease

outcomes associated with excessive immunity (e.g. allergic and autoimmune

disease). And to get over this paradox, I found that much recent research has

looked at how chronic stress elicits simultaneous enhancement and suppression of

the immune response by altering patterns of cytokine secretion. (Again,

cytokines has popped up). Again, there is an imbalance of pro- and anti-

inflammatory cytokines, with increased production

> of proinflammatory cytokines being the main problem. [6][7]

> So stress from emfs could enhance these proinflammatory cytokines also.

>

> I have also come across papers relating to negative effects of ELFs on the

thymus, a major component of the immune system[8][9]. Johansson also assessed

some thymus and other ELF-related papers, including ones relating to oxygen free

radicals, which has been put forward by some on this forum as a possible cause

of EHS. In a paper by Simkó and Mattsson [10] that Johansson mentions, they

look at how increased free radical levels can potentially be caused by immune

response factors.

>

> I have also come across stuff relating heavy metal exposure to impaired

immunes system effects, with possible links again to cytokine imbalances [11].

>

> Increased EHS effects during the day after excessive alcohol intake has also

being mentioned on this forum before; I have had this experience also in the

past, before I more or less gave up alcohol. Alcohol is known to suppress the

immune system.

>

> So, I guess you can see what I am getting at. The immune system seems to be a

possible cause of many symptoms. Other symptoms, such as pulsation/throbbing in

head, cognitive problems, eye problems, etc may be put down to an

impaired/weakened immune system allowing the effects caused by cell-signal

interference, hormonal glands impairment, lens distortion, etc to occur?? Olle

Johansson also put forward that influenza-type symptoms suffered by some EHS

people may be due to over-stimulation of the immune system also.

>

> So I guess some of the effects that I've been talking about could be

summarized as:

>

> EMFs --> increased mast cell and dendritic cell secretion --> inflammation

effects

> Chronic Stress --> immune impairment through pro- /anti- inflammatory cytokine

imbalance-->inflammation

> EMFs --> stress response chronically triggered --> Immune impairment -->

inflammation??

> EMFs --> thymus impairment --> immune impairment

> ELFs --> Immune-induced free radical formation --> DNA damage

> Heavy metal problems --> immune system impairment --> Electrosensitivity

>

> Those who put forward that a health problem, such as heavy metal poisoning, is

the cause of their electrosensitivity may ultimately be right, but it would seem

that it occurs through the mechanism of the immune system.

>

> So what I'm getting at is: should electrosensitive people, whether they

believe in it fully or not, put forward the " immune system impairment " theory by

Johansson as the main cause of electrosensitivity? Instead of being a group with

any number of disparate symptoms and causes put forward, our cause may gain

credence and have a glimmer of making a change if we get behind a single focus

or whatever. There is enough research out there backing it, and I have only

spent a few hours looking in the last few days.

>

> I think it was that said that the only way there will be change is if

enough physicians can be convinced, as politicians and others will strive to

stick to the status quo. If we can convince physicians that man-made electric

fields can impair the immune system and bring it down, that even though people

with underlying health problems are more susceptible, it can happen to healthy

people (as highlighted in the book mentioned here before " The Invisible Disease "

by the Swedish journalist Gunni Nordstrom, where dozens of engineers working

together for a telecommunications company became electrosensitive within months

of each other after a mast installation; I presume many of these were perfectly

healthy). That young kids and elderly people with weaker immune systems are more

susceptible. And that even if their immune system never fully becomes impaired

in their lifetime to become electrosensitive, it could still be impaired bit by

bit, enough to

> endanger people to the effects that have been put forward in many research

papers such as brain tumors, blood-brain barrier problems, etc. (you could even

mention ' immune system threshold to show that their immune system or

stress load threshold is being edged towards bit by bit over time). Getting

ordinary blood tests in a doctor's office or whatever to test immune parameters

isn't much good (although some may show up having problems). It seems it is more

to do with immune overreaction/inflammation/even autoimmune problem. Tests

performed like Olle Johansson's on mast cell and histamine effects is what is

needed, or other inflammation tests. There may be some element of autoimmune

effect or immune weakness that may be harder to test for.

>

> It may still ultimately prove worthless, but getting behind the one cause may

have some effect. It's a shame that the likes of Olle Johansson is being shoved

to the side. There aren't many others backing our cause.

>

> {Interestingly, for the effects mentioned by Johansson that are caused by

chemical release such as Histamine, there does seem to be anti-histamine drugs

being administered for other immune problems such as some forms of allergy and

autoimmune disease. I don't know if these could play some role in alleviating

some of the symptoms for those who are seriously debilitated by the

burning/smarting-type pains. They seem to have serious side-effects also. I

haven't really assessed them yet.]

>

> [1] Johansson, Olle 2009. Disturbance of the immune system by electromagnetic

fields†" A potentially underlying cause for cellular damage and tissue repair

reduction which could lead to disease and impairment. Pathophysiology 16 (2009)

157†" 177

>

> [2] Cossarizza, , Stefano Angioni, Felice Petraglia, R.

Genazaani, a Monti, Miriam Capri, Ferdinando Bersani, Ruggero Cadossi and

Claudio Franceschi. 1993. Expolure to Low Frequency Pulsed Electromagnetic

Fields Increases Interleukin-1 and Interleukin-6 Production by Human Peripheral

Blood Mononuclear Cells. Experimental Cell Research: 204, 385-387 (1993)

>

> [3] C. Aldinucci, G.P. Pessina, 1998. Electromagnetic fields enhance the

release of both interferon g and interleukin-6 by peripheral blood mononuclear

cells after phytohaemagglutinin stimulation. Bioelectrochemistry and

Bioenergetics 44 1998 243†" 249

>

> [4] C.F. Blackman, M. Blank, M.Kundi, C. Sage, D.O. Carpenter, Z.Davanipour,

D. Gee, L. Hardell, O. Johansson, H. Lai, K.H. Mild, A. Sage, E.L. Sobel, Z. Xu,

G. Chen, The Bioinitiative Report†" A Rationale for a Biologically-based Public

Exposure Standard for Electromagnetic Fields (ELF and RF),

http://www.bioinitiative.org, 2007.

>

> [5] REBA GOODMAN AND MARTIN BLANK, 2002. Insights Into Electromagnetic

Interaction Mechanisms. JOURNAL OF CELLULAR PHYSIOLOGY 192:16†" 22 (2002)

>

> [6] Theodore F. Robles, Glaser, and Janice K. Kiecolt-Glaser, 2005. Out

of Balance: A New Look at Chronic Stress, Depression, and Immunity, CURRENT

DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Volume 14†" Number 2

>

> [7] E. , and Suzanne C. Segerstrom. Psychological Stress and the

Human Immune System: A Meta-Analytic Study of 30 Years of Inquiry. Psychological

Bulletin 2004, Vol. 130, No. 4, 601†" 630

>

> [8] V. M. BOGOLYUBOV, S. M. ZUBKOVA, I. D. FRENKEL, Z. A. SOKOLOVA, AND I. B.

LAPRUN, 1988. The Functional State of Thymus Cells following Microwave Exposure

of Endocrine Glands. RADIATION RESEARCH 115, 44-53 (1988)

>

> [9] Sun X, Zhang WH, Niu YJ, Zeng M, Hou YC, Wang XR, . Effects of microwave

radiation on thymocytes in mice at different power densities. Department of

Occupational Health, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050017, China

>

> [10] M. Simkó, M.O. Mattsson, 2004. Extremely low frequency electromagnetic

fields as effectors of cellular responses in vitro: possible immune cell

activation, J. Cell. Biochem. 93 (2004) 83†" 92.

>

> [11] Bruce D. Forrest. Environmental Contaminants and the Immune System,

Blacksmithinstitute www.blacksmithinstitute.org

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

 

I think you may have misunderstood what I was saying.  I was saying that if

there were a foundation set up, we with ES could support it with our own

funds.  We could also use that foundation as a way to bring in public awareness

and financial support from outside the ES community.  For instance, all

diseases pretty much have foundations, and volunteers canvas their neighborhoods

for donations/ wear t-shirts supporting the cause, sell t-shirts supporting the

cause.....  People are very often glad to give $20 or more to a volunteer when

they know the money is going to research and will actually get to the

researchers. 

 

I have been thinking, myself, of having " EMF Refugee " t-shirts made up. 

" Support EMF Refugees " --the shirt alone would cause people to ask what you

meant.  " Light a candle: support EMF Refugees " ; " I am an EMF Refugee (on

front); please help me find a home (on back) " .  Gees, you could go any of 50

directions with this thought.  Bumper stickers are another awareness tool. 

 

But in order to do this, a foundation would provide legitimacy.  It could also

give out the funds to researchers.  True, we are not likely to have huge

amounts of money.  But, there are other millionaires out there who might not

mind finding solutions to the present problems existing due to frequency

abuse.  (Bill Gates himself might contribute!)  I don't see this as an " us

against them " type of problem--all people are in this together.  We need to

educate people as to the risks and dangers *their* families are facing.  We are

having health problems from it, but what about the kids today?  Do we think

they are going to escape without damage?  I don't.

 

I truly wish I had the time and knowledge to do this.  It is a necessary step

for us at this point in time.  We need researchers who are not bought; we need

public awareness of the problem.  This is a great way to get both.

 

My 2 cents,

Diane

 

From: seandaly33 <seandaly33@...>

Subject: Re: Olle Johansson and the immune theory: The only thing that

links us?

Date: Monday, June 27, 2011, 7:34 AM

 

Hello Diane,

Yes, a foundation that could supply funds for the likes of Dr. Johansson would

be ideal, but that is easier said than done. Funding is hard to find for

research of this kind. I came across this piece on another electromagnetic

radiation researcher, Dr. Henry Lai, who has well known papers on blood brain

barrier problems with mobile phone radiation. He was struggling for research

funds years ago and got some money from a millionaire who was having problems

with a council who were erecting mobile phone masts:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0WVI/is_1999_Sept_27/ai_55979379/

I don't know how long that funding lasted!

I don't know how we could go about searching for foundation funds; we would

definitely be up against it.

Regards,

.

>

>

> From: seandaly33 <seandaly33@...>

> Subject: Olle Johansson and the immune theory: The only thing that

links us?

>

> Date: Saturday, June 25, 2011, 12:46 PM

>

>

>  

>

>

>

>

> In recent days I again came across the story, mentioned here before, about

Olle Johansson, the Swedish professor (who has arguably been the leading

researcher on Electrosensitive people anywhere- of the very few out there!), who

is being evicted from his

research laboratory soon. Now, I had seen his piece before in the Bioiniative

report relating to the immune system and EHS, but I never gave his papers a

proper going over. So I went and looked up a paper of his on Electrosensitivity,

similar to the Bioinitiative piece, referenced and linked at the bottom [1], to

give it a more thorough read.

>

> For those that haven't seen it, in the paper he basically hypothesises that

" EMFs disturb immune function through stimulation of various allergic and

inflammatory responses " ; after testing electrosensitive people, he found a very

high number of certain cells involved in the immune response, predominantly mast

cells, and also dendritic cells. The mast cells can release inflammatory

substances such as histamine that can result in the sensation of itch and pain,

and other skin effects such as edema, and erythema. He also put forward that the

dendritic cells may give rise to " subjective sensations of

ongoing inflammation and sensitivity to light. "

>

> Now, the thing is, these cells are found throughout the body, such as the

gastrointestinal tract and bone marrow. So, I just wondered if it may be a

possible explanation for symptoms EHS sufferers have had relating to gut pain

and joint pain.

>

> I know others have put forward the immune system as a cause of EHS before, and

I have mentioned it in previous posts, and I don't want to bang on about it

given that others feel that the cause lies elsewhere, but It's just I came

across some interesting stuff relating to the immune system in recent days,

having given it some proper research for the first time.

>

> Another reason that prompted me to look up immune related stuff is that one of

my main EHS symptoms is canker sores on the gums and tongue, those nasty

white/red spots and blisters that some of you may have had previously. I only

ever get these when having

strong exposure to Electromagnetic Radiation such as strong wireless areas, and

it happened me again last week. I can feel the pain in my gums beginning and

building, and I know the canker sores usually develop in the following 24 hours.

>

> So I went researching if there was any relation between canker sores and the

immune system, and I encountered research papers looking at people who get

canker sores a lot (a disease termed " recurrent aphthous ulcerations " (RAU)).

And it seems that an overreactive immune system could be the main problem,

caused by an imbalance of cytokines, proteins that mediate and regulate the

immune response. The research talked of how a balance of pro- and anti-

inflammatory cytokines is crucial in determination of immune activation and

tolerance, and it bound that with the canker sore problem, there is a

predominance of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Thus the immune system overacts and

it leads to inflammation

problems. So, like Johansson's piece, inflammation and immune over-reaction

seems to be the culprit of another of my EHS symptoms.

>

> So then I looked up cytokines and Electromagnetic Fields, and I came across

research that shows certain Electromagnetic Fields can cause an increase in

pro-inflammatory cytokines [2][3].

>

> I also went back looking at the chapter in the Bioninitiative report [4]

relating to the effects of EMF on stress proteins. This paper [5], from the same

author as the Bioinitiative piece, gives a summary, with the main finding being

that EM fields can stimulate the synthesis of stress proteins indicating that

cells view EM fields as potentially harmful, rather than benign.

>

> Now, quite a few people on this forum in the past seemed to complain of some

form of hormonal problem, and often adrenal-related. Chronic stress, be it from

psychological/environmental/other factors, can cause major

hormonal system problems and this can have a major effect on the immune system.

Having looked up research, people putting forward models of how the immune

system was affected by chronic stress had to deal with the paradox that chronic

stress has been associated with inadequate immunity (e.g. infectious disease)

and disease outcomes associated with excessive immunity (e.g. allergic and

autoimmune disease). And to get over this paradox, I found that much recent

research has looked at how chronic stress elicits simultaneous enhancement and

suppression of the immune response by altering patterns of cytokine secretion.

(Again, cytokines has popped up). Again, there is an imbalance of pro- and anti-

inflammatory cytokines, with increased production

> of proinflammatory cytokines being the main problem. [6][7]

> So stress from emfs could enhance these proinflammatory cytokines also.

>

> I have also come across papers relating to

negative effects of ELFs on the thymus, a major component of the immune

system[8][9]. Johansson also assessed some thymus and other ELF-related papers,

including ones relating to oxygen free radicals, which has been put forward by

some on this forum as a possible cause of EHS. In a paper by Simkó and

Mattsson [10] that Johansson mentions, they look at how increased free radical

levels can potentially be caused by immune response factors.

>

> I have also come across stuff relating heavy metal exposure to impaired

immunes system effects, with possible links again to cytokine imbalances [11].

>

> Increased EHS effects during the day after excessive alcohol intake has also

being mentioned on this forum before; I have had this experience also in the

past, before I more or less gave up alcohol. Alcohol is known to suppress the

immune system.

>

> So, I guess you can see what I am getting at. The immune system seems to

be a possible cause of many symptoms. Other symptoms, such as

pulsation/throbbing in head, cognitive problems, eye problems, etc may be put

down to an impaired/weakened immune system allowing the effects caused by

cell-signal interference, hormonal glands impairment, lens distortion, etc to

occur?? Olle Johansson also put forward that influenza-type symptoms suffered by

some EHS people may be due to over-stimulation of the immune system also.

>

> So I guess some of the effects that I've been talking about could be

summarized as:

>

> EMFs --> increased mast cell and dendritic cell secretion --> inflammation

effects

> Chronic Stress --> immune impairment through pro- /anti- inflammatory cytokine

imbalance-->inflammation

> EMFs --> stress response chronically triggered --> Immune impairment -->

inflammation??

> EMFs --> thymus impairment --> immune impairment

> ELFs -->

Immune-induced free radical formation --> DNA damage

> Heavy metal problems --> immune system impairment --> Electrosensitivity

>

> Those who put forward that a health problem, such as heavy metal poisoning, is

the cause of their electrosensitivity may ultimately be right, but it would seem

that it occurs through the mechanism of the immune system.

>

> So what I'm getting at is: should electrosensitive people, whether they

believe in it fully or not, put forward the " immune system impairment " theory by

Johansson as the main cause of electrosensitivity? Instead of being a group with

any number of disparate symptoms and causes put forward, our cause may gain

credence and have a glimmer of making a change if we get behind a single focus

or whatever. There is enough research out there backing it, and I have only

spent a few hours looking in the last few days.

>

> I think it was that said that the

only way there will be change is if enough physicians can be convinced, as

politicians and others will strive to stick to the status quo. If we can

convince physicians that man-made electric fields can impair the immune system

and bring it down, that even though people with underlying health problems are

more susceptible, it can happen to healthy people (as highlighted in the book

mentioned here before " The Invisible Disease " by the Swedish journalist Gunni

Nordstrom, where dozens of engineers working together for a telecommunications

company became electrosensitive within months of each other after a mast

installation; I presume many of these were perfectly healthy). That young kids

and elderly people with weaker immune systems are more susceptible. And that

even if their immune system never fully becomes impaired in their lifetime to

become electrosensitive, it could still be impaired bit by bit, enough to

> endanger people to the effects that

have been put forward in many research papers such as brain tumors, blood-brain

barrier problems, etc. (you could even mention ' immune system threshold

to show that their immune system or stress load threshold is being edged towards

bit by bit over time). Getting ordinary blood tests in a doctor's office or

whatever to test immune parameters isn't much good (although some may show up

having problems). It seems it is more to do with immune

overreaction/inflammation/even autoimmune problem. Tests performed like Olle

Johansson's on mast cell and histamine effects is what is needed, or other

inflammation tests. There may be some element of autoimmune effect or immune

weakness that may be harder to test for.

>

> It may still ultimately prove worthless, but getting behind the one cause may

have some effect. It's a shame that the likes of Olle Johansson is being shoved

to the side. There aren't many others backing our cause.

>

> {Interestingly, for the effects mentioned by Johansson that are caused by

chemical release such as Histamine, there does seem to be anti-histamine drugs

being administered for other immune problems such as some forms of allergy and

autoimmune disease. I don't know if these could play some role in alleviating

some of the symptoms for those who are seriously debilitated by the

burning/smarting-type pains. They seem to have serious side-effects also. I

haven't really assessed them yet.]

>

> [1] Johansson, Olle 2009. Disturbance of the immune system by electromagnetic

fields†" A potentially underlying cause for cellular damage and tissue repair

reduction which could lead to disease and impairment. Pathophysiology 16 (2009)

157†" 177

>

> [2] Cossarizza, , Stefano Angioni, Felice Petraglia, R.

Genazaani, a Monti, Miriam Capri, Ferdinando Bersani, Ruggero Cadossi and

Claudio Franceschi. 1993. Expolure

to Low Frequency Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields Increases Interleukin-1 and

Interleukin-6 Production by Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells.

Experimental Cell Research: 204, 385-387 (1993)

>

> [3] C. Aldinucci, G.P. Pessina, 1998. Electromagnetic fields enhance the

release of both interferon g and interleukin-6 by peripheral blood mononuclear

cells after phytohaemagglutinin stimulation. Bioelectrochemistry and

Bioenergetics 44 1998 243†" 249

>

> [4] C.F. Blackman, M. Blank, M.Kundi, C. Sage, D.O. Carpenter, Z.Davanipour,

D. Gee, L. Hardell, O. Johansson, H. Lai, K.H. Mild, A. Sage, E.L. Sobel, Z. Xu,

G. Chen, The Bioinitiative Report†" A Rationale for a Biologically-based

Public Exposure Standard for Electromagnetic Fields (ELF and RF),

http://www.bioinitiative.org, 2007.

>

> [5] REBA GOODMAN AND MARTIN BLANK, 2002. Insights Into

Electromagnetic Interaction Mechanisms. JOURNAL OF CELLULAR PHYSIOLOGY

192:16†" 22 (2002)

>

> [6] Theodore F. Robles, Glaser, and Janice K. Kiecolt-Glaser, 2005. Out

of Balance: A New Look at Chronic Stress, Depression, and Immunity, CURRENT

DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Volume 14†" Number 2

>

> [7] E. , and Suzanne C. Segerstrom. Psychological Stress and the

Human Immune System: A Meta-Analytic Study of 30 Years of Inquiry. Psychological

Bulletin 2004, Vol. 130, No. 4, 601†" 630

>

> [8] V. M. BOGOLYUBOV, S. M. ZUBKOVA, I. D. FRENKEL, Z. A. SOKOLOVA, AND I. B.

LAPRUN, 1988. The Functional State of Thymus Cells following Microwave Exposure

of Endocrine Glands. RADIATION RESEARCH 115, 44-53 (1988)

>

> [9] Sun X, Zhang WH, Niu YJ, Zeng M, Hou YC, Wang XR, . Effects of microwave

radiation on thymocytes in mice at different power densities. Department of

Occupational

Health, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050017, China

>

> [10] M. Simkó, M.O. Mattsson, 2004. Extremely low frequency electromagnetic

fields as effectors of cellular responses in vitro: possible immune cell

activation, J. Cell. Biochem. 93 (2004) 83†" 92.

>

> [11] Bruce D. Forrest. Environmental Contaminants and the Immune System,

Blacksmithinstitute www.blacksmithinstitute.org

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

That sounds like an ideal scenario Diane, having a specific foundation for our

cause, but how feasible is it?

I guess getting people with the time and money to do this may be the ultimate

problem, so it could be hard to get something like that up and running. You

sound like the ideal person to get it started, so it's a pity you don't have the

time. I would say that that could be the problem for most of us unfortunately.

Regards,

.

> >

> >

> > From: seandaly33 <seandaly33@>

> > Subject: Olle Johansson and the immune theory: The only thing that

links us?

> >

> > Date: Saturday, June 25, 2011, 12:46 PM

> >

> >

> >  

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > In recent days I again came across the story, mentioned here before, about

Olle Johansson, the Swedish professor (who has arguably been the leading

researcher on Electrosensitive people anywhere- of the very few out there!), who

is being evicted from his

> research laboratory soon. Now, I had seen his piece before in the Bioiniative

report relating to the immune system and EHS, but I never gave his papers a

proper going over. So I went and looked up a paper of his on Electrosensitivity,

similar to the Bioinitiative piece, referenced and linked at the bottom [1], to

give it a more thorough read.

> >

> > For those that haven't seen it, in the paper he basically hypothesises that

" EMFs disturb immune function through stimulation of various allergic and

inflammatory responses " ; after testing electrosensitive people, he found a very

high number of certain cells involved in the immune response, predominantly mast

cells, and also dendritic cells. The mast cells can release inflammatory

substances such as histamine that can result in the sensation of itch and pain,

and other skin effects such as edema, and erythema. He also put forward that the

dendritic cells may give rise to " subjective sensations of

> ongoing inflammation and sensitivity to light. "

> >

> > Now, the thing is, these cells are found throughout the body, such as the

gastrointestinal tract and bone marrow. So, I just wondered if it may be a

possible explanation for symptoms EHS sufferers have had relating to gut pain

and joint pain.

> >

> > I know others have put forward the immune system as a cause of EHS before,

and I have mentioned it in previous posts, and I don't want to bang on about it

given that others feel that the cause lies elsewhere, but It's just I came

across some interesting stuff relating to the immune system in recent days,

having given it some proper research for the first time.

> >

> > Another reason that prompted me to look up immune related stuff is that one

of my main EHS symptoms is canker sores on the gums and tongue, those nasty

white/red spots and blisters that some of you may have had previously. I only

ever get these when having

> strong exposure to Electromagnetic Radiation such as strong wireless areas,

and it happened me again last week. I can feel the pain in my gums beginning and

building, and I know the canker sores usually develop in the following 24 hours.

> >

> > So I went researching if there was any relation between canker sores and the

immune system, and I encountered research papers looking at people who get

canker sores a lot (a disease termed " recurrent aphthous ulcerations " (RAU)).

And it seems that an overreactive immune system could be the main problem,

caused by an imbalance of cytokines, proteins that mediate and regulate the

immune response. The research talked of how a balance of pro- and anti-

inflammatory cytokines is crucial in determination of immune activation and

tolerance, and it bound that with the canker sore problem, there is a

predominance of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Thus the immune system overacts and

it leads to inflammation

> problems. So, like Johansson's piece, inflammation and immune over-reaction

seems to be the culprit of another of my EHS symptoms.

> >

> > So then I looked up cytokines and Electromagnetic Fields, and I came across

research that shows certain Electromagnetic Fields can cause an increase in

pro-inflammatory cytokines [2][3].

> >

> > I also went back looking at the chapter in the Bioninitiative report [4]

relating to the effects of EMF on stress proteins. This paper [5], from the same

author as the Bioinitiative piece, gives a summary, with the main finding being

that EM fields can stimulate the synthesis of stress proteins indicating that

cells view EM fields as potentially harmful, rather than benign.

> >

> > Now, quite a few people on this forum in the past seemed to complain of some

form of hormonal problem, and often adrenal-related. Chronic stress, be it from

psychological/environmental/other factors, can cause major

> hormonal system problems and this can have a major effect on the immune

system. Having looked up research, people putting forward models of how the

immune system was affected by chronic stress had to deal with the paradox that

chronic stress has been associated with inadequate immunity (e.g. infectious

disease) and disease outcomes associated with excessive immunity (e.g. allergic

and autoimmune disease). And to get over this paradox, I found that much recent

research has looked at how chronic stress elicits simultaneous enhancement and

suppression of the immune response by altering patterns of cytokine secretion.

(Again, cytokines has popped up). Again, there is an imbalance of pro- and anti-

inflammatory cytokines, with increased production

> > of proinflammatory cytokines being the main problem. [6][7]

> > So stress from emfs could enhance these proinflammatory cytokines also.

> >

> > I have also come across papers relating to

> negative effects of ELFs on the thymus, a major component of the immune

system[8][9]. Johansson also assessed some thymus and other ELF-related papers,

including ones relating to oxygen free radicals, which has been put forward by

some on this forum as a possible cause of EHS. In a paper by Simkó and

Mattsson [10] that Johansson mentions, they look at how increased free radical

levels can potentially be caused by immune response factors.

> >

> > I have also come across stuff relating heavy metal exposure to impaired

immunes system effects, with possible links again to cytokine imbalances [11].

> >

> > Increased EHS effects during the day after excessive alcohol intake has also

being mentioned on this forum before; I have had this experience also in the

past, before I more or less gave up alcohol. Alcohol is known to suppress the

immune system.

> >

> > So, I guess you can see what I am getting at. The immune system seems to

> be a possible cause of many symptoms. Other symptoms, such as

pulsation/throbbing in head, cognitive problems, eye problems, etc may be put

down to an impaired/weakened immune system allowing the effects caused by

cell-signal interference, hormonal glands impairment, lens distortion, etc to

occur?? Olle Johansson also put forward that influenza-type symptoms suffered by

some EHS people may be due to over-stimulation of the immune system also.

> >

> > So I guess some of the effects that I've been talking about could be

summarized as:

> >

> > EMFs --> increased mast cell and dendritic cell secretion --> inflammation

effects

> > Chronic Stress --> immune impairment through pro- /anti- inflammatory

cytokine imbalance-->inflammation

> > EMFs --> stress response chronically triggered --> Immune impairment -->

inflammation??

> > EMFs --> thymus impairment --> immune impairment

> > ELFs -->

> Immune-induced free radical formation --> DNA damage

> > Heavy metal problems --> immune system impairment --> Electrosensitivity

> >

> > Those who put forward that a health problem, such as heavy metal poisoning,

is the cause of their electrosensitivity may ultimately be right, but it would

seem that it occurs through the mechanism of the immune system.

> >

> > So what I'm getting at is: should electrosensitive people, whether they

believe in it fully or not, put forward the " immune system impairment " theory by

Johansson as the main cause of electrosensitivity? Instead of being a group with

any number of disparate symptoms and causes put forward, our cause may gain

credence and have a glimmer of making a change if we get behind a single focus

or whatever. There is enough research out there backing it, and I have only

spent a few hours looking in the last few days.

> >

> > I think it was that said that the

> only way there will be change is if enough physicians can be convinced, as

politicians and others will strive to stick to the status quo. If we can

convince physicians that man-made electric fields can impair the immune system

and bring it down, that even though people with underlying health problems are

more susceptible, it can happen to healthy people (as highlighted in the book

mentioned here before " The Invisible Disease " by the Swedish journalist Gunni

Nordstrom, where dozens of engineers working together for a telecommunications

company became electrosensitive within months of each other after a mast

installation; I presume many of these were perfectly healthy). That young kids

and elderly people with weaker immune systems are more susceptible. And that

even if their immune system never fully becomes impaired in their lifetime to

become electrosensitive, it could still be impaired bit by bit, enough to

> > endanger people to the effects that

> have been put forward in many research papers such as brain tumors,

blood-brain barrier problems, etc. (you could even mention ' immune

system threshold to show that their immune system or stress load threshold is

being edged towards bit by bit over time). Getting ordinary blood tests in a

doctor's office or whatever to test immune parameters isn't much good (although

some may show up having problems). It seems it is more to do with immune

overreaction/inflammation/even autoimmune problem. Tests performed like Olle

Johansson's on mast cell and histamine effects is what is needed, or other

inflammation tests. There may be some element of autoimmune effect or immune

weakness that may be harder to test for.

> >

> > It may still ultimately prove worthless, but getting behind the one cause

may have some effect. It's a shame that the likes of Olle Johansson is being

shoved to the side. There aren't many others backing our cause.

> >

>

> > {Interestingly, for the effects mentioned by Johansson that are caused by

chemical release such as Histamine, there does seem to be anti-histamine drugs

being administered for other immune problems such as some forms of allergy and

autoimmune disease. I don't know if these could play some role in alleviating

some of the symptoms for those who are seriously debilitated by the

burning/smarting-type pains. They seem to have serious side-effects also. I

haven't really assessed them yet.]

> >

> > [1] Johansson, Olle 2009. Disturbance of the immune system by

electromagnetic fields†" A potentially underlying cause for cellular damage

and tissue repair reduction which could lead to disease and impairment.

Pathophysiology 16 (2009) 157†" 177

> >

> > [2] Cossarizza, , Stefano Angioni, Felice Petraglia, R.

Genazaani, a Monti, Miriam Capri, Ferdinando Bersani, Ruggero Cadossi and

Claudio Franceschi. 1993. Expolure

> to Low Frequency Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields Increases Interleukin-1 and

Interleukin-6 Production by Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells.

Experimental Cell Research: 204, 385-387 (1993)

> >

> > [3] C. Aldinucci, G.P. Pessina, 1998. Electromagnetic fields enhance the

release of both interferon g and interleukin-6 by peripheral blood mononuclear

cells after phytohaemagglutinin stimulation. Bioelectrochemistry and

Bioenergetics 44 1998 243†" 249

> >

> > [4] C.F. Blackman, M. Blank, M.Kundi, C. Sage, D.O. Carpenter, Z.Davanipour,

D. Gee, L. Hardell, O. Johansson, H. Lai, K.H. Mild, A. Sage, E.L. Sobel, Z. Xu,

G. Chen, The Bioinitiative Report†" A Rationale for a Biologically-based

Public Exposure Standard for Electromagnetic Fields (ELF and RF),

http://www.bioinitiative.org, 2007.

> >

> > [5] REBA GOODMAN AND MARTIN BLANK, 2002. Insights Into

> Electromagnetic Interaction Mechanisms. JOURNAL OF CELLULAR PHYSIOLOGY

192:16†" 22 (2002)

> >

> > [6] Theodore F. Robles, Glaser, and Janice K. Kiecolt-Glaser, 2005.

Out of Balance: A New Look at Chronic Stress, Depression, and Immunity, CURRENT

DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Volume 14†" Number 2

> >

> > [7] E. , and Suzanne C. Segerstrom. Psychological Stress and

the Human Immune System: A Meta-Analytic Study of 30 Years of Inquiry.

Psychological Bulletin 2004, Vol. 130, No. 4, 601†" 630

> >

> > [8] V. M. BOGOLYUBOV, S. M. ZUBKOVA, I. D. FRENKEL, Z. A. SOKOLOVA, AND I.

B. LAPRUN, 1988. The Functional State of Thymus Cells following Microwave

Exposure of Endocrine Glands. RADIATION RESEARCH 115, 44-53 (1988)

> >

> > [9] Sun X, Zhang WH, Niu YJ, Zeng M, Hou YC, Wang XR, . Effects of microwave

radiation on thymocytes in mice at different power densities. Department of

Occupational

> Health, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050017, China

> >

> > [10] M. Simkó, M.O. Mattsson, 2004. Extremely low frequency

electromagnetic fields as effectors of cellular responses in vitro: possible

immune cell activation, J. Cell. Biochem. 93 (2004) 83†" 92.

> >

> > [11] Bruce D. Forrest. Environmental Contaminants and the Immune System,

Blacksmithinstitute www.blacksmithinstitute.org

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >