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posted by janrinok on Friday February 09 2018, @03:05AM   Printer-friendly
from the blue-pee dept.

According to the World Health Organization, malaria is responsible for approximately 445,000 deaths every year. That number may be due to drop, however, as scientists have found that a human-safe blue dye kills parasites in patients' bloodstreams within two days – that's faster than has ever been possible before.
...
That's where the methylene blue dye comes in.

In field tests conducted in Mali, it was added to artemisinin-based medication, and was found to eradicate all gametocytes in patients' bloodstreams within as little as 48 hours. The dye is typically used in laboratories to distinguish dead cells from living cells, and was reportedly well-tolerated by the test subjects. It does, however, have one interesting side effect.

According to the lead scientist it turns your urine blue, which is reason enough for anybody to take it, really.


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  • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Friday February 09 2018, @03:29AM (4 children)

    by JoeMerchant (3937) on Friday February 09 2018, @03:29AM (#635374)

    Tonic water? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinine [wikipedia.org]

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  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by c0lo on Friday February 09 2018, @04:20AM (2 children)

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday February 09 2018, @04:20AM (#635383) Journal

    Any relation to Quinine?

    Nope, it's methylene blue [wikipedia.org].
    Intense dark blue coloured even in visible light.
    Mild antioxidant, reduces ferric (Fe3+) ion to ferrous (Fe2+) one, used in treating symptoms of Methemoglobinemia [wikipedia.org]

    The malaria parasite seems to rely on Fe2+->Fe3+ for its metabolism (see quicktest for malaria [nature.com] using magnets [physicsworld.com]) and the presence of methylene blue interferes with its metabolism.

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    • (Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 09 2018, @05:26AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 09 2018, @05:26AM (#635395)

      A little off-topic but methylene blue has some other interesting properties: its an oxygen sensor [americanchemistry.com].

      I have long suspected the blue fluid used to detect automotive head-gasket leaks to the radiator by bubbling any gases coming from the radiator through a solution will turn it from blue to yellow if CO and CO2 exhaust gases are being vented to the coolant - is methylene blue.

      It seems to be a commonly available product. Quite useful in raising tropical fish. [google.com]

    • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 09 2018, @04:42PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 09 2018, @04:42PM (#635553)

      From the linked Wikipedia article:

      Methylene blue was identified by Paul Ehrlich about 1891 as a possible treatment for malaria

      Doesn't sound exactly like a new discovery.

  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Friday February 09 2018, @06:50AM

    by MichaelDavidCrawford (2339) Subscriber Badge <mdcrawford@gmail.com> on Friday February 09 2018, @06:50AM (#635426) Homepage Journal

    Aspirine from willow tree bark was far cheaper, and relieved the symptoms of Malaria just as well as Quinine did.

    But Quinine cures malaria. Aspirine only eases the symptoms.

    Without a doubt millions perished as a result of that profound biomedical insight.

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