Francisco Gonzalez-Lima, PhD is one of the world’s leading neuroscientists and his research offers hope to millions of potential Alzheimer’s patients.  

He’s spent decades researching what goes wrong that can lead to Alzheimer’s.  It’s not the amyloid hypothesis which he calls “the world’s biggest bio-medical research mistake of his lifetime.”  He’s found in 9 out of 10 cases of Alzheimer’s there is no inheritance or familial component.  Instead, it’s an accumulation of lifestyle factors that lead to the disease.  He discusses the danger of mid-life obesity, blood pressure, the thickness of the carotid artery wall, exercise, and diet.

Dr. Gonzalez-Lima’s research finds that a very low amount of methylene blue (of pharmaceutical USP purity) in the body can promote brain oxygen consumption by an enzyme called cytochrome oxidase to power the mitochondria. In his analysis of many Alzheimer’s brains he found an inhibition of cytochrome oxidase in all of them. Methylene blue supplementation compensates for that problem.

The seven scientific research papers In the Links and Resources tab below are a few of the many authored or co-authored by Dr. Gonzalez-Lima. They provide more detail on the topics in this episode. 

Francisco Gonzalez-Lima’s Methylene Blue Recipe to Promote Cognitive Function 

Step 1

Talk to your medical prescriber and compound pharmacist to get your methylene blue. It’s a cheap FDA grandfathered drug, but it’s important to get USP grade. The powder lasts for many years. Licensed suppliers of USP Methylene Blue from India have an excellent record of dye making. The important point is to get a purity chemical analysis certifying the USP purity grade.

Step 2

Figure your dosage based on body weight.

Dr. Gonzalez-Lima’s research found beneficial dosages between 0.5 mg up to 1 mg of USP methylene blue per Kg of body weight.  That means for most people somewhere in the range of 35 mg to 70 mg per dose.  

For your medical prescriber to figure your personal dose within that range here’s an example:  

For a 132-pound person (60 Kg) they’d take approximately 30 mg (60 Kg x 0.5 mg) up to 60 mg (60 Kg x 1 mg) of methylene blue in a dose.

Step 3

Based on his decades of research, Dr. Gonzalez-Lima found taking a single low dose of USP methylene blue in the morning is more beneficial. Half seems to be excreted in about 12 hours, but the remainder stays in your body for a while. How many days that takes varies person to person with older individuals sometimes excreting it more slowly than younger folks.  One can tell methylene blue is still in your system as your urine is blue since methylene blue oxidizes when it hits the air.  Inside your body it is not blue. It’s clear. When your urine turns clear again, it means the low amount of methylene blue is out of one’s system.  A low dose in one’s body is what Dr. Gonzalez-Lima’s research shows is beneficial to promote cognitive function.  

Safety disclaimer:  It is believed that when methylene blue is given to patients taking antidepressants, especially SSRIs and SNRIs, high levels of serotonin can build up in the brain, causing toxicity. Also, anesthesia providers should be cognizant of this drug-drug interaction and associated sequelae.