title: "Lest we forget you--methylene blue...".
abstract: Methylene blue (MB), the first synthetic drug, has a 120-year-long history of diverse applications, both in medical treatments and as a staining reagent. In recent years there was a surge of interest in MB as an antimalarial agent and as a potential treatment of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), possibly through its inhibition of the aggregation of tau protein. Here we review the history and medical applications of MB, with emphasis on recent developments.
authors.affiliation: Center of Biochemistry (BZH), University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: R Heiner
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Schirmer
authors.forename: Heike
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Adler
authors.forename: Marcus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pickhardt
authors.forename: Eckhard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mandelkow
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D000962:Antimalarials / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008751:Methylene Blue / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000962:Antimalarials; D016875:tau Proteins; D008751:Methylene Blue