How a blue dye helps brain cells recover from hunger
Methylene Blue Protects Astrocytes against Glucose Oxygen Deprivation by Improving Cellular Respiration
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Methylene blue only works during reoxygenation—not during deprivation.
Common intuition says you should treat injury as it happens. But here, giving the compound during the crisis made things worse, suggesting the cell’s metabolic state must be restored first for the dye to function safely.
Practical Takeaways
If you're a stroke survivor or caregiver, ask your neurologist if methylene blue is being studied in clinical trials for post-stroke recovery.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Methylene blue only works during reoxygenation—not during deprivation.
Common intuition says you should treat injury as it happens. But here, giving the compound during the crisis made things worse, suggesting the cell’s metabolic state must be restored first for the dye to function safely.
Practical Takeaways
If you're a stroke survivor or caregiver, ask your neurologist if methylene blue is being studied in clinical trials for post-stroke recovery.
Publication
Journal
PLOS ONE
Year
2015
Authors
Gourav Roy Choudhury, Ali Winters, Ryan M. Rich, Myoung-Gwi Ryou, Zygmunt Gryczynski, Fang Yuan, Shao-Hua Yang, Ran Liu
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Claims (9)
Methylene blue acts as an alternative electron carrier in the mitochondrial respiratory chain, enhancing cellular ATP production and modulating monoaminergic neurotransmission to reduce fasting-induced metabolic stress and appetite.
Methylene blue helps brain cells take in more sugar, which they need to make energy.
After brain cells are starved and then get oxygen and sugar back, methylene blue helps them make more of their main energy molecule.
Unlike some toxins, methylene blue doesn’t make harmful free radicals in brain cells after they’ve been starved.
Methylene blue helps brain cells use oxygen more efficiently to make energy after they’ve been starved.