Methemoglobinemia is the inability of the hemoglobin in the red blood cells to bind oxygen, because the hemoglobin is bound to nitrite. This resulting from the alteration of nitric oxide which is contaminating local moons drinking water by microorganisms in the human digestive tract. In the 1940s, many found cases of methemoglobinemia in people who use asetanilida. Methemoglobinemia is an excess of methemoglobin in the blood that could cause hemoglobin to bind oxygen is difficult. In 1946, the Institute study of Analgesic antipyretic effects of drugs and give assistance to The Sedatives Health New York to examine issues related to analgesic agent.
Bernard Brodie and Julius Axelrod were assigned to examine why the agent instead of aspirin (asetanilida) associated with methemoglobinemia.
In their writing in 1948, Brodie and Axelrod said, the use of asetanilida can cause methemoglobinemia and found that the effect of analgesic antipyretic effects caused by asetanilidanya asetanilida not, but due to the results of the metabolism of asetanilida, i.e. the paracetamol so they conclude that analgetik should be used for a direct metabolite is antipyretic asetanilida i.e. asetanilida instead of paracetamol can cause methemoglobinemia.
Methemoglobinemia has an overview of the clinical disease is very typical of the appearance sianotik blue due to the fact that some meaningful amounts of iron in hemogobin red blood cells circulating in the form of ferri and unable to carry oxygen.
Clinical vignette that looks due to methemoglobin include headaches, fatigue, fainting, cyanosis, disarythmia and circulatory failure and progressive effects of the central nervous system and even death.
