Molecules, Madness, and Malaria: How Victorian Fabric Dyes Evolved into Modern Medicines for Mental Illness and Infectious disease

by Wallace B. Mendelson

In 1856, William Henry Perkin, an 18 year old chemistry student in London, was attempting to synthesize quinine, when instead he ended up with a dark sticky substance in the bottom of his test tube. When cleaning it out with alcohol, he produced a bright purple liquid, which became aniline purple, the first synthetic fabric dye, and inadvertently launched an industry. Within the next few years, about 30 companies appeared, using synthetic organic chemistry to make dyes, and later over the years paints, cosmetics, agricultural chemicals, food coloring—and medicines. Among these were medicines for psychiatry and infectious diseases, particularly malaria, which at the time was devastating the development of a worldwide empire. These efforts were not in isolation, but intertwined, culminating in the appearance in the 1950s of a failed antimalarial, chlorpromazine (Thorazine), which revolutionized care of psychotic patients. Sulfa drugs, derived from a red azo dye, became the building blocks on one of the trails to the first antidepressants. A penicillin preservative became meprobamate, the first blockbuster tranquilizer. Later, benzodiazepine tranquilizers were created from fabric dyes their inventor had previously discarded as a student.
The role of dye-derived synthetic drugs continues to this day, as indigo and related dyes are being developed for treating infections and cancer. Methylene blue, discovered 150 years ago, is now being studied for possible use in Alzheimer’s disease. This story is as old as seventeenth century missionaries discovering medicinal leaves in the high Andes, and as new as today’s headlines. In this book, Dr. Mendelson uses his 40 years of experience in pharmacology to describe the little-known history of the intertwined efforts to find treatments for psychiatric illnesses and infectious diseases.

155 pages, Paperback

Published September 6, 2020

About the author

Dr. Mendelson is a Professor of Psychiatry and Clinical Pharmacology, and director of the Sleep Research Laboratory (ret), at the University of Chicago. He earned an MD degree from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and completed a residency in psychiatry there as well. He has held professorships at Ohio State University and the State University of New York at Stony Brook, was Chief of the Section on Sleep Studies at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, MD, and Director of the Sleep Disorders Center at the Cleveland Clinic.

Dr. Mendelson is a past president of the Sleep Research Society. Among his honors is the William C. Dement Academic Achievement Award from the American Sleep Disorders Association/American Academy of Sleep Medicine as well as a Special Award in Sleep and Psychiatry from the National Sleep Foundation, and he is a distinguished fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. Dr. Mendelson has authored 15 books and numerous peer-reviewed papers on various aspects of sleep research, psychiatry, and medical history. More information about his work can be found on Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace...) and at his website (www.zhibit.org/WallaceMendelson).

Reviews

[Nan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you know how medical drugs were discovered?

If you are curious to find out, then read the book entitled, “Molecules, Madness and Malaria: How Victorian Fabric Dyes Evolved into Modern Medicines for Mental Illness and Infectious Disease” by Wallace B. Mendelson, M.D.

This book was written in connection with his previous book entitled, “The Curious History of Medicines in Psychiatry” by Wallace B. Mendelson, M.D. which tells the story of how “a number of creative individuals transformed often-accidental observations into the discoveries of new drugs in the 1950’s and 1960’s”.

This author’s most recent book is filled with interesting facts about scientists and how they were “influenced by, and in turn affected, the world wars and the struggle to overcome the diseases of that time: malaria, tuberculosis and syphilis.”

“During the Crimean War, British soldiers suffered from a variety of infectious diseases including: typhus, cholera, and malaria.”

William Henry Perkin, a chemistry student in London in 1856, was interested in preventing and treating malaria. He built his own lab and discovered aniline purple dye.

In 1928, Alexander Fleming had an interest in finding “natural substances to treat wounds”. He discovered penicillin.

During the Great War, Gerhard Domagk “tended wounds in field hospitals.” He developed “sulfa antibacterials” and saved his daughter’s life from an infection.

Several other scientists are also included such as: German chemist August Wilhelm Von Hofmann; Heinrich Caro; Adolph Von Bayer, August Kekule; Paul Ehrlich; Karl Weigert; Otto Loewi; Robert Koch; Paul Guttmann; Leo Sternbach; Justus Liebig; Emil Fischer; German physician Joseph Von Mering, M.D., etc.

This book also discusses, “How efforts to treat infectious diseases and psychiatric disorders developed and interacted together”.

A great book to read!

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

FASCINATING!!!

As someone with a pretty heavy biochemistry background as well as an interest in art and art history, I am always interested in studying the way pharmaceutical breakthroughs are made. And I also am fascinated by the close connection between color and dye derivatives and the chemicals that comprise many on the drugs used in our history as well as today. So when I found the book, Molecules, Madness, and Malaria: How Victorian fabric dyes evolved into modern medicines for mental illness and infectious disease, by Wallace B. Mendelson, I was beyond excited to dive in.
I did find the book to be very heavy on scientific processes and language, especially the beginning part of the book dealing with organic chemistry and carbon rings. I found it easy to understand, but might suggest a little background information for people who have no knowledge of these subjects.

I loved the sections that discussed the names of the drugs and how they got them. I especially loved the naming of barbiturate. Mixing the Catholic holiday of St. Barbara and Urea. Or possibly the donation of urine/urea from a woman named Barbara.
The book covers so many medicines, so many scientists, so many explanations of the evolutions of drug usages. It is chocked full of names, dates, drug and plant names, diseases… and I was so interested to learn that one major scientist and pharmaceutical pioneer lived and worked in my area.
I also loved the thread of religion and how it impacted the knowledge and use of medicines in the day. Like the idea of a plant shape or name would tell you what body part to use it on, or how certain drugs shouldn’t be used for STIs because they encouraged promiscuity.
All in all, this book is fascinating. I am so glad to have read it and to keep a copy in my library. DEFINITELY 5 stars!

[Jana Sawyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know about you, but I never really wondered how the aspirin I take for a headache or the antibiotics for a sinus infection or the flu developed. I was just thankful in my early years that aspirin helped me make it through the day when I had a “headache” from the night before. I did however wonder why so many women were supposedly “hysterical” or died under unusual circumstances when I was reading articles and books from the early 19th century.
Dr. Mendelson’s book Molecules, Madness, and Malaria, answers some of those questions and others I didn’t have until I was reading the book. This book is interesting reading. I personally read it twice in a row to make sure I understood what I was reading. It is very well written and some passages are for a layman but a lot of it was written in medical speak or if you have a background in medicine or research, it may be easier for you to understand quickly. My background is business so while I enjoyed it, it did take a dictionary and a couple of readings for me to understand all of the terms occasionally. I read anything but mostly, biographies, literature, history and fiction so this was out of my wheelhouse unless I’m taking science courses in college but that was primarily astronomy and anthropology. I promised myself when I survived high school physics, I wouldn’t go back to anything like that in college.

I loved the facts about the different scientists and doctors and what they did to try to save as many people/soldiers as they could during the wars. I was fascinated by how in developing treatments for infectious diseases, so many psychiatric disorders were identified, named and interacted. I will have to read his other books, especially the one about medicines and anxiety.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Educational

This book is a good education for the history of some medicine. I have no real references to this subject so my ideal of this being educational can be wrong. I enjoyed the book and have a good many take away to explore further.