(geez--meant to post this as respnse to dbiker's posting about methylene blue)

--a couple of previous posts noting use of methylene blue. http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...methylene+blue


http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...methylene+blue

Info from wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methylene_blue
"...Clinical trials
TauRx Therapeutics has reported that methylene blue (methylthioninium chloride), under the tradename rember, may provide a way of halting or slowing the progression of Alzheimer's dementia.[28] However, the formulation used was different from that commonly available as a medicine and caution has been expressed about use of methylene blue as a treatment for Alzheimer's.[29] TauRx Therapeutics has suggested that the mechanism by which methylene blue might delay or reverse neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease is as an inhibitor of Tau protein aggregation. While methylene blue arguably has an effect on Tau aggregation, it also has an effect on mitochondrial function which is likely to play an important role. In vitro studies suggest that methylene blue might be an effective remedy for both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease by enhancing key mitochondrial biochemical pathways. It can disinhibit and increase complex IV, whose inhibition correlates with Alzheimer's disease.

Methylene blue might also delay senescence as one study has shown that it extended the lifespan of IMR90 fibroblasts by more than 20 population doublings.[30]

These findings are highly controversial, and a clear dosage response curve has not been found...."

also noted in this info is fact that methylene blue is an MAO inhibitor. when given IV, it has a profound effect upon the pH of serum.

Probably the most important aspect is the fact that this substance is NOT patentable, thus will find no $$$ to study its utility. madelyn

I am suspicious of the info put out by TauRx and feel that they are, understandably, attempting to position themselves to get a patent on something that otherwise would ot be patentable. If they can claim that the tau angle is unique and that any use for PD or AD is their discovery and that boosting mitochondrial function isjust a beneficial side-effect, they might have a chance. After all, who is going to put up the money to challenge them?

The published material seems to indicate that a dosage of 60 mg was effective but that at 100 mg the effect was lost. However the clinical dose used in other treatments is in the 2 to 5 mg/kg range or 200 to 500 mg and toxicity starts to be a concern at 7.5 mg/kg or 750 mg (for a 220 lb individual). But those figures put the new discovery in a dose range within what has been the norm for decades - i.e. somewhere along the line a child or woman would have been given a 60 mg dose and the effect perhaps noticed.

But the internet rumour mill says that the actual work used, not milligrams, but micrograms. While such a "mistake" would be unforgivably sloppy science, it would be a cunning business move. If people like us try it on our own, we are going to be far past the point where the effect drops out but well below the toxic range. TauRx gets their work of record but puts a red herring on the trail to buy time for further work.

The comment was made by one of the scientists that the dosage was "like a few drops in a swimming pool". He didn't say that it was within the currently accepted range,but that it was very small. Sort of like LDN therapy.

Maybe I am paranoid. But if it turned out that that tiny dose of 60 micrograms did the trick so far below the hazard threshold and that you could buy a lifetime supply at the local pet store for five bucks, what would TauRx's discovery be worth......?

Here's another article on MB, but what I found most informative were the comments! Apparently there are a few folks self-dosing for Alz. with improvement.

I still am not clear whether one can take this while also taking Azilect or not, or what the dose would be, but am glad it seems to be helping some. Note the comment someone made about rigidity decreasing in the Alzheimer's loved one, maybe you'd see the same in PD?

lurking-
No link to article?
-rick

I edited to include the link, I guess it didn't take it...I'll find the link again and post, sorry about that.

OK, here it is, let's see if this takes this time....also, there are 77 comments to this article at the bottom of it, some are duplicates, but still, it takes awhile to read through all of them, but worth it, I think. Here goes:

http://pipeline.corante.com/archives...s_comeback.php

Thanks, that worked just fine.