Blue M&Ms linked to reducing spine injury.

The same blue food dye found in M&Ms and Gatorade could be used to reduce damage caused by spine injuries, offering a better chance of recovery, according to new research.

Blue M&Ms linked to reducing spine injury

Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center found that when they injected the compound Brilliant Blue G (BBG) into rats suffering spinal cord injuries, the rodents were able to walk again, albeit with a limp.

The only side effect was that the treated mice temporarily turned blue.

The results of the study, published in the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences," build on research conducted by the same center five years ago.

In August 2004, scientists revealed how Adenosine triphosphate, which is known as ATP and described as the "energy currency of life," surges to the spinal cord soon after injury occurs.

Researchers found that the sudden influx of ATP killed off healthy cells, making the initial injury far worse. But when they injected oxidized ATP into the injury, it was found to block the effect of ATP, allowing the injured rats to recover and walk again.

"While we achieved great results when oxidized ATP was injected directly into the spinal cord, this method would not be practical for use with spinal cord-injured patients," said lead researcher Maiken Nedergaard, professor of Neurosurgery and director of the Center for Translational Neuromedicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

"First, no one wants to put a needle into a spinal cord that has just been severely injured, so we knew we needed to find another way to quickly deliver an agent that would stop ATP from killing healthy motor neurons. Second, the compound we initially used, oxidized ATP, cannot be injected into the bloodstream because of its dangerous side effects."

Back in 2004, Nedergaard's team discovered that the spinal cord was rich in a molecule called P2X7, which is also known as "the death receptor" for its ability to allow ATP to latch onto motor neurons and send the signals which eventually kill them.

Nedergaard knew that BBG could thwart the function of P2X7, and its similarity to a blue food dye approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1982 gave her the confidence to test it intravenously.

It worked. The rats given BBG immediately after their injury could walk again with a limp. Those that didn't receive a dose never regained their mobility.

Nedergaard told CNN that there is currently no standard treatment for patients with spinal injury when they reach the hospital emergency room.

"Right now we only treat 15 percent of the patients we receive with steroids and many hospitals question if that even works for that 15 percent; it's a very moderate benefit to only a subset of patients. So right now 85 percent of patients are untreated," she said.

Nedergaard said the research team isn't claiming that BBG can cure spinal injuries, instead that it offers a potential improvement in patients' condition.

"Even a moderate improvement in functional performance of the patient is a big, big event for these patients," she said. "They can control their bladder. If they can just take small steps instead of sitting in a wheelchair all the time, it's a tremendous benefit for these patients," she added.

The dose must be administered immediately after the injury, before additional tissue dies as a result of the initial injury.
Researchers are currently pulling together an application to be lodged with the FDA to stage the first clinical trials of BBG on human patients.

"Our hope is that this work will lead to a practical, safe agent that can be given to patients shortly after injury, for the purpose of decreasing the secondary damage that we have to otherwise expect," said Steven Goldman, Chair of the University of Rochester Department of Neurology.
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Originally posted by ChemBreather
The same blue food dye found in M&Ms and Gatorade could be used to reduce damage caused by spine injuries, offering a better chance of recovery, according to new research.

Great catch! But man, is that one sad looking rat!!

S & F for the most peculiar post of the day.

Do you think this could be used to help on-going spinal damage like someone who has degenerating disks and all that? If it suppress that molecule that results in the breakdown of back material, I believe it should be able to hold off ongoing damage as well as acute severe damage.

No way. That's awesome!!
I like this part.

Back in 2004, Nedergaard's team discovered that the spinal cord was rich in a molecule called P2X7, which is also known as "the death receptor" for its ability to allow ATP to latch onto motor neurons and send the signals which eventually kill them.

Nedergaard knew that BBG could thwart the function of P2X7, and its similarity to a blue food dye approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1982 gave her the confidence to test it intravenously.

I'm thinking this could also be useful in aging studies and even in research on ALS and other conditions.

Originally posted by JohnnyCanuck

Originally posted by ChemBreather
The same blue food dye found in M&Ms and Gatorade could be used to reduce damage caused by spine injuries, offering a better chance of recovery, according to new research.

Great catch! But man, is that one sad looking rat!!

S & F for the most peculiar post of the day.

Yea, he got the 'Blues' ...

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Originally posted by ravenshadow13
No way. That's awesome!!
I like this part.

Back in 2004, Nedergaard's team discovered that the spinal cord was rich in a molecule called P2X7, which is also known as "the death receptor" for its ability to allow ATP to latch onto motor neurons and send the signals which eventually kill them.

Nedergaard knew that BBG could thwart the function of P2X7, and its similarity to a blue food dye approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1982 gave her the confidence to test it intravenously.

I'm thinking this could also be useful in aging studies and even in research on ALS and other conditions.

ALS is a bad one and needs to be 'fixed' so to speak.
I'm curious as to if the blue M&M's will be taken out of the bag and put in bottles and sold at the Pharmacy now !

reply to post by ChemBreather


This information answers a recent question I posted in Skunk Works. Now I have the answer. How much more original can you get?

Who knew blue dye was so beneficial. If Obama had known about this he wouldn't have had to reverse the stem cell funding ban afterall.

Originally posted by Eitimzevinten
Do you think this could be used to help on-going spinal damage like someone who has degenerating disks and all that? If it suppress that molecule that results in the breakdown of back material, I believe it should be able to hold off ongoing damage as well as acute severe damage.

Found this from Nature Medicine from 2004 :

Nature Medicine 10, 821 - 827 (2004)
Published online: 18 July 2004 | doi:10.1038/nm1082


AbstractSecondary injury exacerbates the extent of spinal cord insults, yet the mechanistic basis of this phenomenon has largely been unexplored. Here we report that broad regions of the peritraumatic zone are characterized by a sustained process of pathologic, high ATP release. Spinal cord neurons expressed P2X7 purine receptors (P2X7R), and exposure to ATP led to high-frequency spiking, irreversible increases in cytosolic calcium and cell death. To assess the potential effect of P2X7R blockade in ameliorating acute spinal cord injury (SCI), we delivered P2X7R antagonists OxATP or PPADS to rats after acute impact injury. We found that both OxATP and PPADS significantly improved functional recovery and diminished cell death in the peritraumatic zone. These observations demonstrate that SCI is associated with prolonged purinergic receptor activation, which results in excitotoxicity-based neuronal degeneration. P2X7R antagonists inhibit this process, reducing both the histological extent and functional sequelae of acute SCI.

How do you get the M&Ms into the syringe?
I just couldn't resist that one.

That's an interesting find.

reply to post by Hazelnut


I'm glad you found your thought
Yes, blue dye , who needs stem cells.Looks like he made a bummer.

I think we need the stemcells anyways ..

Mice scare me but that one looks cute,lol
My cats are always dragging those things inside.

Yes ALS is a bad disease. I can not think of any much worse than that.
Would love to see some research for that field.

reply to post by ChemBreather


As I understand it, that means it'll work to prevent ongoing damage but only if a spiked ATP level is the cause. Having these high levels precede an injury likely increases the extent of the severe injury. So basically intaking this dye can only really do good things for your back in making it more impervious to injury and increasing the chance of it healing. Noted.

[edit on 28-7-2009 by Eitimzevinten]

I was just reading this on the blue rats they tested on good thread.

Originally posted by amatrine
Mice scare me but that one looks cute,lol
My cats are always dragging those things inside.

Yes ALS is a bad disease. I can not think of any much worse than that.
Would love to see some research for that field.

Some research for you here ..

Research News Archive 2009

June 25, 2009

Scientists Discover Faster Protein Aggregation
Means Faster Disease Progression in ALS
A team of researchers have discovered that ALS progresses faster in patients whose gene mutations cause faster clumping of the SOD1 protein, linked to approximately 2 percent of all ALS cases. Aggregation – or clumping – of the SOD1 protein is believed to be a crucial step in the disease process.

Ther is some progress... More stuff at the link..

Originally posted by Eitimzevinten
reply to post by ChemBreather

 

As I understand it, that means it'll work to prevent ongoing damage but only if a spiked ATP level is the cause. Having these high level precede an injury likely increases the extent of the severe injury. So basically intaking this dye can only really do good things for your back in making it more impervious to injury and increasing the chance of it healing. Noted.

NO

This would ONLY be useful in the event of an injury and as a treatment

Low levels of ATP production are implicated in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome AND Gulf War syndrome... and Heart Failure

Other likely diseases would be diabetes and Cancer in particular that could result from low ATP levels

The last Blue dyes used in M & M's were recalled for causing Cancer as well and they left the color alone for a long time until bringing it back in a new marketing scheme and this new chemical.

So again

NO

Eating any daily large amounts or even daily small to moderate amounts of anything with the Blue Dye in it can do only one thing for you

CAUSE FATIGUE and MUSCLE WEAKNESS

The worse part is... aside for a heavy "down" after a pack of M&M's the amounts probably wouldn't be in enough concentration to help your spine unless you ate a few dozen packs...

on a normal day considering it's slowing down atp which would in turn stop glucose uptake that will leave you sick and tired and weak for sure...

The only place this will lead you if attempting to take preventative for any reason is in a hospital

Atp is critical for muscle contraction... what you would actually be doing is greatly increasing your chance for back injury when your weakened muscles could no longer effectively support your spine.

Don't start eating blue dyed foods daily... EVER

reply to post by ChemBreather


Blue M&Ms linked to reducing spine injury.
-----------------------------


Van Halen will not be pleased .

They spend decades working their way through the confectionery spectrum , having identified brown M & M`S as having no medical value ,it was thought only a matter of time before they made the breakthrough .

--------------------------


Up until rather recently blue colour additives were not used in children's candy , if i am correct, it was because it was used to `denote` medicines .

------------------------

Interesting find . S & F

i have always like the blue ones the most.

maybe this is why?

good find s&f

reply to post by mopusvindictus


It doesn't decrease ATP levels, its reduces the receptors of ATP in the spine. Atleast thats how I came to understand it. I may have misread.

[edit on 28-7-2009 by Eitimzevinten]

i hope all the people involved in aniaml research suffere the same fate as the ones they impose on those creatures.
people suck.

reply to post by Eitimzevinten


I need to read the actual research but I think you may be correct and it is I that misread...

My initial reaction to not ingest gob loads of M&Ms still stands though The last batch of blue dye killed you, it's very hard to anticipate what other receptors this chemical might block even if it doesn't block atp in general. I have seen much that indicates to me that virtually any cell can produce any type of receptor and I wouldn't want to take any chances with my krebs cycle for the "event" of a massive spine injury one day...

I also, don't think YOU in particular are genuinely about to start nobbing down M&M's... so not personal lol

I just somehow could see some one in here actually stocking up on M&M's Blue Mountain Dew and becoming obese and doing god knows what else to their bodys and nervous system

sounds like it has promise as a specific injection... that's all...

I still avoid the blue M&M's and mostly...anything else blue made artificial, results haven't been good over the years...