Effect of Methylene Blue on Red Cell Glutathione

Abstract

AN unusually high value for red cell reduced glutathione (GSH) was encountered while performing a glutathione stability test, using Beutler's¹ technique, on blood from a 2-year-old girl who developed methæmoglobinæmia and hæmolysis following the accidental ingestion of an unknown quantity of diaminodiphenylsulphone (‘Dapsone’). Our range for red cell GSH in normal subjects is 78–104 mg per 100 ml. red cells (mg per cent): in the patient a value of 160 mg per cent was found. After incubation of the blood in the presence of acetylphenylhydrazine, the GSH-level was 119 mg per cent (normal range 60–94 mg per cent); red cell glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity² was normal.