A little blue and purple helps body fend off deadly...( gas may be endemic to South and Central...),Health

gas may be endemic to South and Central America, the problem of contaminated blood is of worldwide concern. Reports have surfaced of infections with AIDS, hepatitis, West Nile encephalitis and other diseases from tainted transfusions, causing a number of repeated blood shortages and a worldwide attempt to find new ways to ensure clean, transfused blood. Many resolutions are either very expensive or result in new but occasionally lethal complications for transfusion recipients. Some dyes such as methylene blue are used alone to treat the disease, but require the use of ultraviolet radiation, which has been associated with increased rates of certain cancers. Ocariz' combination treatment did not require the use of radiation. As an added measure of safety, the dyes can be removed by an inexpensive filter before transfusion to patients.

Ocariz and his colleagues found that when human blood samples spiked with T. cruzi were treated with these dyes no measurable amount of T. cruzi remained in the blood samples. However, when the researchers injected the treated blood into mice that lacked a functioning immune system, some of the mice died, though not as quickly as those receiving untreated blood.

The researchers think that a minute amount of T. cruzi may remain in the treated blood, but that a healthy immune system may be able to combat the remaining parasites.

"The immune-suppressed mice showed us that the body's immune system must still play a role in the elimination against Chagas disease," Ocariz said. "Now, we hope to measure how well the dyes work in concert with a healthy immune system."

The researchers are continuing to look at how well dyes can eliminate parasites, bacteria and other organisms from blood, as well as other simple and cost-effective methods that will add an extra layer of safety. Ocariz's colleagues included Dr. Edward Shanbrom, a private researcher who is a pioneer in the use of products to clean transfused blood; G
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Contact: Andrew Porterfield
amporter@uci.edu
949-824-3969
University of California - Irvine
15-Oct-2002

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