Despite viral videos, methylene blue won't improve your mood or cognition, experts say

A chemic archetypal synthesized successful the 1800s arsenic a textiles dye is making the rounds connected societal media arsenic an casual mode to boost temper and heighten cognition. However, experts accidental it's lone truly utile successful treating precise circumstantial aesculapian conditions, astir notably a uncommon humor upset called methemoglobinemia. 

Methylene bluish received important societal media attraction aft a video began circulating successful February showing U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. utilizing a dropper to adhd a bluish liquid to a solid of water. 

"To anyone who knows thing astir chemistry, you look astatine that video and it's precise wide that he's squirting methylene bluish into the glass," said Joe Schwarcz, manager of McGill University's Office for Science and Society, speaking with Dr. Brian Goldman, big of The Dose podcast. 

Health and wellness influencers, including podcasters similar Joe Rogan, rapidly began suggesting that, taken orally, methylene bluish could beryllium utilized to amended cognition, minimize the signs of aging and adjacent — successful the lawsuit of arguable filmmaker Mel Gibson — combat cancer. 

Despite the attraction it has received, experts accidental that radical shouldn't instrumentality methylene bluish unless nether the supervision of a aesculapian professional. 

What is methylene blue? 

First synthesized successful the precocious 1800s by German chemist Heinrich Caro, methylene bluish began its beingness arsenic a textiles dye. But it was soon discovered it could stain microbes nether a microscope, making them easier to spot and study.

After methylene bluish was recovered to not lone stain but really termination 1 of the parasites that causes malaria, the dye took connected a caller beingness arsenic a attraction for the mosquito-borne disease, Schwarcz says. 

"It competed with quinine, but it was overmuch cheaper to produce," said Schwarcz, who has a PhD successful chemistry and besides teaches astatine McGill. 

"By playing astir with the molecular structure, benignant of molecular roulette, [chemists] were capable to alteration the operation of the molecule yet into chloroquine, which is inactive wide utilized contiguous to dainty malaria."

Because of this, methylene bluish remains connected the World Health Organization's Model List of Essential Medicines. 

How other is methylene bluish utilized today?

Modern physicians present mostly cognize it arsenic a attraction for methemoglobinemia, a uncommon information that occurs erstwhile the humor is incapable to adequately transportation oxygen passim the body. 

"Methylene bluish is effectual astatine … helping them reconstruct the equilibrium to a mean magnitude of oxygenated hemoglobin oregon deoxygenated hemoglobin," said Dr. Emily Austin, a Toronto-based exigency doc and aesculapian manager of the Ontario Poison Centre.

Drugs similar dapsone, utilized to dainty leprosy and definite kinds of dermatitis, arsenic good arsenic substances similar amyl nitrites — recovered successful enactment drugs similar poppers, as good arsenic successful ungraded runoff contaminated by fertilizers — tin origin methemoglobinemia. 

Topical anesthetics tin besides sometimes origin chemic changes successful the assemblage that pb to methemoglobinemia, says Austin. 

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Symptoms of methemoglobinemia see bluish lips oregon bluish fingertips, shortness of breath, disorder and fainting. Patients whitethorn adjacent person a chiseled cocoa colour to their blood. 

Austin says methemoglobinemia is comparatively rare, and she has seen it lone erstwhile since she began moving arsenic an exigency doc successful 2016, though she adds that the information is seen much often astatine the Ontario Poison Centre. 

"In general, it's inactive a reasonably uncommon occurrence," said Austin. 

"This is not thing that idiosyncratic would needfully spot successful their vocation arsenic a practising exigency physician, though it's communal capable that I deliberation it's important we person an attack to it."

Is determination thing to the claims methylene bluish tin forestall Alzheimer's?

Some societal media claims person suggested methylene bluish tin beryllium effectual successful preventing and treating Alzheimer's disease.

Schwarcz, however, says the nexus betwixt methylene bluish and Alzheimer's is much analyzable than Tiktok mightiness suggest. 

One of the telltale neurological signs of Alzheimer's illness is the tangling of tau proteins successful the brain. 

"It turns retired that methylene bluish was not lone capable to visualize and stain those tangled proteins that qualify Alzheimer's disease, but, amazingly, nether the microscope … it really untangled those proteins," said Schwarcz. 

However, probe has shown that ingesting methylene bluish orally does small to amended symptoms of Alzheimer's. 

What has shown immoderate committedness successful precise aboriginal probe connected animals, Schwarcz said, is simply a derivative of methylene bluish created by altering its molecular structure. 

"There person been a mates of aviator studies connected humans wherever it seems that the deterioration successful presumption of Alzheimer's was slowed down somewhat," helium said. 

"But we request a batch much enactment there."

A 2023 broad reappraisal of randomized power trials examining the effects of methylene bluish and its derivatives connected Alzheimer's attraction highlighted the compound's "potential to amended cognitive function, trim oxidative stress, and support against neurodegeneration."

Nonetheless, the aforesaid insubstantial pointed retired respective concerns, among them safety issues and adverse effects — including mild to mean gastrointestinal and urinary effects — while simultaneously highlighting the request for studies with larger illustration sizes, longer attraction durations and an introspection of due dosages and medication routes. 

For his part, Schwarcz says not lone does the commercially disposable methylene bluish carnivore small resemblance to the derivative included successful that research, there's small payment to taking it until better, longer-term probe shows that it really tin amended encephalon health.

"I can't accidental that there's nary semipermanent risk, due to the fact that nary 1 has ever studied this implicit the long-term," said Schwarcz. 

Methylene bluish and SSRIs

Austin, however, says radical taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI), a people of medicine typically utilized to dainty depression, should debar consuming methylene blue. 

That's due to the fact that taking it on with SSRIs inhibits the breakdown of serotonin, and tin pb to a information known arsenic serotonin toxicity, says Austin.

Serotonin is simply a neurotransmitter that, among different functions, plays a relation successful regulating mood, cognition and memory. 

Too overmuch serotonin circulating successful the assemblage — sometimes called serotonin syndrome — tin pb to higher oregon little bosom rate, precocious humor pressure, accrued assemblage temperature, arsenic good arsenic changes successful the behaviour of muscles and reflexes, Austin says. 

She says concerns astir serotonin toxicity are 1 of the reasons wherefore she mightiness debar treating her patients with methylene blue.

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Poor technological literacy down proliferation of wellness misinformation

As idiosyncratic who regularly works to combat wellness and different technological misinformation, Schwarcz says a deficiency of technological literacy is 1 of the reasons wherefore societal media users easy dispersed dubious accusation astir methylene bluish and different topics.

"They don't recognize the underlying science, and they volition marque mountains retired of molehills," said Schwarcz. 

"Unfortunately, this is conscionable the mode things are moving these days. Social media has taken implicit accusation spread."

At the aforesaid time, Schwarcz blames nationalist figures similar Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for aiding successful the dispersed of misinformation. 

"He conscionable doesn't cognize however the technological satellite works, and yet helium has this quality to dispersed information," said Schwarcz.