Fact: The Color Blue Can Heal Spinal Injuries

By: Lauren Pellicciotti, CIS Compliance Manager
laurenpellicciotti@cis-partners.com

Prior to starting my full day at work, I like to enjoy a cup of Joe at my kitchen table while watching the morning news. Now you might be wondering how this might relate to health care industry news. Well, during my morning routine, I could not believe my ears when I heard that blue M&Ms and Gatorade could help people with long-term spinal injuries[1].

According to a study conducted by the University of Rochester Medical Center, the compound Brilliant Blue G can potentially prevent the cascade of events that leads to inflammation of the spine that usually is followed by a traumatic event[2]. According to Dr. Steven Goldman, who worked on the study, "We have no effective treatment now for patients who have an acute spinal cord injury. 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."

Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences states that inflammation can cause more irreversible damage than the initial trauma. Maiken Nedergaard of the University of Rochester Medical Center and colleagues reported that “One of the chemicals is ATP. Nedergaard's team looked for something that would interfere with this and found the blue dye, which they called BBG, would do this via the P2X7R receptor or doorway. The team found that IV administration of the P2X7R inhibitor BBG significantly reduced the severity of spinal cord damage without any evident toxicity. Remarkably, BBG is a derivative of the widely used food additive FD&C Blue number 1. Currently, more than 1 million pounds of FD&C blue dye No. 1 are consumed yearly in the United States, corresponding to a daily intake of 16 mg per person1.”

Knowing that small bit of information and the probability of this helping a person in need, I will definitely keep this information in my back pocket as a home remedy, as should you! If nothing else, a little chocolate might cheer you up.

Sources:
[1] Blue Food Dye Used in M&M's May Treat Spinal Cord Injuries: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,535142,00.html
[2] WebMD News: http://www.webmd.com/brain/news/20090729/blue-dye-mms-helps-spinal-cord-injuries