Alternative mitochondrial electron transfer for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and cancers: Methylene blue connects the dots

Shao-Hua Yang, Wenjun Li, Nathalie Sumien, Michael Forster, James W. Simpkins, Ran Liu, In Progress in Neurobiology, Volume 157, 2017, Pages 273-291, ISSN 0301-0082, doi:10.1016/j.pneurobio.2015.10.005.

Highlights:
Reprogramming energetic metabolism is a common feature for neurodegenerative diseases and cancers.
Methylene blue functions as an alternative mitochondrial electron transfer carrier, enhancing bioenergetics and inhibiting biosynthetics.
Methylene blue provides protective effect in rodent models of Parkinson disease, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, and Friedreich's ataxia.
Methylene blue reverses Warburg's effect and inhibits cancers proliferation.
Alternative mitochondrial electron transfer may provide a common novel therapeutic mechanism for cancers and neurodegenerative diseases.



Alternative mitochondrial electron transfer for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and cancers: Methylene blue connects the dots