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Acta Neurochirurgica
Published in: Acta Neurochirurgica 5/2016

01-05-2016 | Case Report - Brain Tumors

Cochlear implants in the etiopathogenesis of glioblastoma–an interesting observation or independent finding?

Authors: Piyush Kalakoti, Richard D. Murray, Jenny Pettersson-Segerlind, Henrik Smeds, Anil Nanda

Published in: Acta Neurochirurgica | Issue 5/2016

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Abstract

Various risk factors have been implicated in the pathogenesis of glioblastomas including ionizing radiation. Recent evidence has suggested a possible association between exposure to nonionizing radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) generated from mobile phones and wireless devices to cause malignant transformation of the neuroglial cells, albeit this is widely debated. In this report, we discuss the development of glioblastoma in two geopolitically unrelated patients, an elderly male from the United States and a middle-aged woman from Sweden, with long-standing cochlear implants (CI). We hypothesize that the low-frequency RF-EMF emanating from the transcutaneous link of the CI prosthesis over a long period has potentially triggered tumor development in these patients.
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Metadata
Title
Cochlear implants in the etiopathogenesis of glioblastoma–an interesting observation or independent finding?
Authors
Piyush Kalakoti
Richard D. Murray
Jenny Pettersson-Segerlind
Henrik Smeds
Anil Nanda
Publication date
01-05-2016
Publisher
Springer Vienna
Published in
Acta Neurochirurgica / Issue 5/2016
Print ISSN: 0001-6268
Electronic ISSN: 0942-0940
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00701-016-2718-3

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