How a blue dye helps calm fat around the heart
Methylene blue reduces monoamine oxidase expression and oxidative stress in human cardiovascular adipose tissue
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Methylene blue reduced MAO-A expression — not just blocked its activity — meaning it changed the fat tissue’s biology at the genetic level.
Most antioxidants just neutralize free radicals temporarily. This drug actually made the tissue produce less of the enzyme causing the damage — like turning off the factory, not just cleaning up the smoke.
Practical Takeaways
If you have heart failure or are at risk, talk to your doctor about whether methylene blue (in clinical settings) could be part of future trials — don’t self-prescribe.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Methylene blue reduced MAO-A expression — not just blocked its activity — meaning it changed the fat tissue’s biology at the genetic level.
Most antioxidants just neutralize free radicals temporarily. This drug actually made the tissue produce less of the enzyme causing the damage — like turning off the factory, not just cleaning up the smoke.
Practical Takeaways
If you have heart failure or are at risk, talk to your doctor about whether methylene blue (in clinical settings) could be part of future trials — don’t self-prescribe.
Publication
Journal
Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry
Year
2024
Authors
Oana M Aburel, Laurentiu Braescu, Darius G. Buriman, Adrian P. Merce, A. Bînă, C. Borza, Cristian Mornoș, A. Sturza, D. Muntean
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Claims (10)
In the fat around the heart and blood vessels of heart failure patients, the MAO-A enzyme is much more common than the MAO-B enzyme.
When fat tissue around the heart and blood vessels was soaked in a blue dye called methylene blue for a day in the lab, it made less of a harmful enzyme and produced fewer damaging chemicals, which might help explain how the dye could protect cells.
The blue dye methylene blue cut the amount of a harmful chemical (hydrogen peroxide) in heart and blood vessel fat by about half when tested in the lab.
When the fat tissue was given serotonin (a chemical that MAO-A breaks down), it made more harmful molecules—but adding methylene blue stopped some of that increase.
In the fat around the heart and blood vessels of heart failure patients, a specific enzyme called MAO-A is much more common and makes more harmful chemicals than its cousin MAO-B.