Believe it or not, the blue dye used in coloring the blue M&Ms could be used to reduce damage caused by spine injuries.

CNN reports that researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center found that when they injected the compound Brilliant Blue G (BBG) into rats suffering spinal cord injuries, the rodents were able to walk again, albeit with a limp.

The only side effect was that the treated mice temporarily turned blue.

Not bad considering the mice get to move their previously sleeping limbs!

After a severe injury your body pumps Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to the spinal cord killing off healthy cells, making the initial injury far worse. According to the researchers, a molecule called P2X7 allows the ATP to latch onto motor neurons in the spinal cord and send the signals which eventually kill them.

The lead researcher Maiken Nedergaard, professor of Neurosurgery and director of the Center for Translational Neuromedicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center, knew that BBG could thwart the function of P2X7.

It worked. The rats given BBG immediately after their injury could walk again with a limp. Those that didn’t receive a dose never regained their mobility.

Nedergaard wasn’t does not claim that BBG could be the “silver bullet” that could cure spinal injuries but offers potential improvement in patients’ condition.

“Even a moderate improvement in functional performance of the patient is a big, big event for these patients,” she said. “They can control their bladder. If they can just take small steps instead of sitting in a wheelchair all the time, it’s a tremendous benefit for these patients,” she added.

The researchers are now busy filling an application for clinical trials.