PRELIMINARY REPORT ON THE USE OF METHYLENE BLUE TO TERMINATE AN ANTABUSE-ALCOHOL REACTION

The reported ability of methylene blue to reactivate xanthine oxidase inhibited by antabuse in vitro has been tried clinically as a means of terminating an antabuse-alcohol reaction. Although there was some subjective relief in 2 patients following the intravenous injection of methylene blue, there was no objective evidence of its altering the antabuse-alcohol reaction in the amounts given. From these results, it seems unlikely that xanthine oxidase is of major importance in acetaldehyde metabolism in vivo; or else methylene blue in this dosage is unable to overcome the inhibition brought about by antabuse, if such an inhibition of xanthine oxidase occurs in the patient.