Does the drug alter DNA?
Im sorry, I responded to the wrong quote on my response to brainfogged. The answer is no, this is from pg 2 of the link I provided. It can alter DNA given circumstances, but these are usually extreme cirumstances and unlikely.
My previous post made simple: **Visible light isn't powerful enough energy-wise to penetrate skin and cause dna or chromosomal damage.
***Then there was a proceeding argument about light to the retinas, if that would cause damage. Then it was answered that in the studies the light used caused dna damage a high energy wavelength, much more powerful than the sun, and that we don't even look at the sun at its strongest point directly. We always look at light from reflective resources.
****Then there was an even more proceeding argument which i forget was, but was answered with: The studies used in dna damage, or toxic events, are much much many times fold higher than what the recommended nootropic dose is. And the drug is still safe enough to be used in many medical settings at much higher without concern. And I'd assume in a patient room there is plenty of visible light.
"This photosensitization thing seems quite absurd, to me anyways. MB isn't something brand new. It's been around for ages, used at concentrations way beyond 100nM (~1mg!) in humans and no ill "photosensitization" effects have been reported to my knowledge. Considering ~200mg of MB is used routinely for methylhemoglobinemia, and anywhere from ~733mg (12mg/kg/day) to ~1,500mg (24mg/kg/day) in humans is used to treat malaria with few ill effects (the minimal dosage needed to see any toxic effect what so ever from MB is estimated around 600mg from the rat toxicological studies)... Yeah, I'm sorry, but these studies with crayfish neurons (sunlight is actually 137 mW/cm2 at nigh noon, staring directly into the sun; so the crayfish study used three times the amount of energy that sunlight has, and you already can't stare directly into the sun, MB notwithstanding) and fungi (which used mM amounts of MB in their study) just don't cut it for me. Also, do we even know what doses were used in PMID: 6603875? They did say that vitamin E completely stopped any photosensitization by MB, and considering the issue is singlet oxygen production, which is made constantly all the time in our bodies, including our eyes, I really don't worry - the human body is quite apt at not only dealing with but actually using super oxide for a variety of signals.
I have no doubt, and this is only my opinion, that you have nothing to worry about with your retina and MB at these doses, what so ever. Not to mention humans have a better antioxidant system than most creatures on this planet, and even many mammals, our retinas are not prone to failure by any direct "sensitization" effect, and retinas can heal quite well. It's only if you lose the optic nerve or degenerate the retina faster than it can heal (usually this is genetic) that you run into trouble; and I'm afraid MB at these dosages just isn't going to be able to do that. You'll lose your lens long before retina trouble, more likely than not, since the lens is one of the very rare things that aren't turned over."
Edited by chrono, 11 October 2011 - 08:35 PM.
