Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31144270›Full record

ReviewCNS drugs2019

Methylene Blue in the Treatment of Neuropsychiatric Disorders.

Martin Alda

Abstract readReview
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in CNS drugs, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
0.9field-weighted citation impact, top 31% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 25 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. NO Time to Die: Nitric Oxide's Ongoing Relevance in Mental Disorders.Biological psychiatry global open science · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. The effects of acute Methylene Blue administration on cerebral blood flow and metabolism in humans and rats.Journal of cerebral blood flow and metabolism : official journal of the International Society of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism · 2023
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

1 author at 1 institution in 3 countries.

Martin AldaDepartment of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, 5909 Veterans' Memorial Lane, Halifax, NS, B3H 2E2, Canada. malda@dal.ca.ORCID 0000-0001-9544-3944
Dalhousie University · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Methylene blue is a long-established drug with complex pharmacology and multiple clinical indications. Its diverse mechanisms of action are most likely responsible for the large variety of its clinical effects. Of interest to psychiatrists, methylene blue has antidepressant, anxiolytic, and neuroprotective properties documented by both animal and human studies. Its stabilizing effect on mitochondrial function and dose-dependent effect on the generation of reactive oxygen species are of significant heuristic value. For these reasons, methylene blue holds promise as a proof-of-concept treatment of organic/neurodegenerative disorders and as a neuroprotective agent in general. In psychiatry, methylene blue has been used for over a century. It was tried successfully in the treatment of psychotic and mood disorders and as a memory enhancer in fear-extinction training. Particularly promising results have been obtained in both short- and long-term treatment of bipolar disorder. In these studies, methylene blue produced an antidepressant and anxiolytic effect without risk of a switch into mania. Long-term use of methylene blue in bipolar disorder led to a better stabilization and a reduction in residual symptoms of the illness. It is usually well tolerated, but caution is needed in the light of its inhibitory effect on monoamine oxidase A.

Indexed as

AnimalsAntidepressive AgentsBipolar DisorderFearHumansMethylene BlueNeuroprotective AgentsAntidepressive AgentsMethylene BlueNeuroprotective Agents

Identifiers

PMID31144270
OpenAlexW2946911722

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.