• medgremlin@midwest.social
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      17 hours ago

      Methylene blue is an actual antidote for methemoglobinemia which is a blood disorder in which red blood cells become really bad at releasing oxygen. It’s usually caused by a reaction to certain drugs like lidocaine or compounds containing nitrites. It looks like methemoglobinemia can be caused by “poppers” (which RFK Jr thinks are the cause of HIV).

      Here’s an article from the Cleveland Clinic that goes into more detail.

      The “poppers” thing is probably why RFK Jr takes methylene blue because he likely thinks its a way to prevent HIV. (For which there is now a pre-exposure prophylaxis shot with a nearly 100% success rate and progress on a vaccine…but it’s an mRNA vaccine so RFK is trying to kill it.)

      • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        16 hours ago

        “poppers” (which RFK Jr thinks are the cause of HIV).

        Can we just take a moment to recognize that the person in charge of public health for this country thinks poppers cause HIV?

        I just… I just don’t know what to say anymore.

          • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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            13 hours ago

            Yeah, I don’t think I will lol. I’m aware of a handful of the insane things he’s done, and I’d rather not make myself suicidal right in time for the weekend

            • medgremlin@midwest.social
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              13 hours ago

              This one’s more likely to result in homicidal rage than suicidal despair. Probably still a bad time.

              (For something with a completely opposite effect, I highly recommend K-Pop Demon Hunters. It’s so fun and the animation is amazing.)

        • medgremlin@midwest.social
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          13 hours ago

          It was just announced in Nature a week ago. It’s extremely recent news. (Of note, the article talks about how it is successful in instigating a strong immune response, but that doesn’t always translate to immunity.)

            • medgremlin@midwest.social
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              12 hours ago

              The pre-exposure prophylaxis shot is also pretty amazing. The initial clinical trials in Sub-Saharan Africa demonstrated a 0% HIV infection rate for people receiving the shot every 6 months as directed.