Interactions of ELF magnetic fields with mouse skeletal muscle

The second generation of female OF1 mice exposed chronically to a magnetic field of 50 Hz and 15 mu T (rms) was studied to find out the possible alterations in the skeletal muscle caused by this exposure. Animals were sacrificed at the age of 14 weeks, and their skeletal muscle studied by spectrophotometric and histopathological techniques. Calcium concentration was found to be significantly decreased in the experimental animals, while H2O content, Na, K, Fe, Ni, Mg, and Zn concentrations were not significantly different from those of control animals. Histologically, we found variation in fiber size, rounded and widely separated fibers, centrally located nuclei, and intermyofibrillar lipids. We could not find necrosis, inflammatory infiltrate, or loss of either the filaments or the cross-striation.