Master.Antioxidant

Biological Theories

2008-02-12T11:33:00.000-08:00

Wear-and-Tear theory
Aging associated changes are the result of chance damage accumulating over time.

Accumulative-Waste Theory
The buildup in cells of waste products that presumably interferes with metabolism.

Autoimmune Theory
Aging results from gradual decline of the body’s autoimmune system.

Cross-Linkage Theory
Aging results from accumulation of cross-linked compounds interfering with normal cell function.

Free-Radical Theory
Free radicals (unstable and highly reactive organic molecules) cause cell damage that results in symptoms we associate with Aging

Cellular Theory
Aging can be explained by structural and functional changes in the cells of an organism.

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Theories of Aging

2008-02-12T11:31:00.000-08:00

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Activity Theory

The more active people are the more likely they will be happy.

Continuity Theory

With aging people will tend to maintain the same habits, personalities, and life style that they have developed in earlier years.

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Effects of Aging on Health

2008-02-12T11:28:00.000-08:00

Cognitive Effects
Beginning in the thirties is point in the aging process when it is typical to experience cognitive declines. However it is possible to maintain normal cognitive function into old age. Many elderly have memories as sharp or even sharper than their younger counterparts. Semantic or general knowledge memory including vocabulary and definitions remain steady or even increase.

Emotional Effects
Aging typically produces and improvement in emotional intelligence. This is because with age we typically are better able to manage and regulate our emotions. The exception is usually related to health and wellness deficiencies, disease states, or prolonged stress.

Successful Ageing
The Golden Years have been termed "successful ageing" as early as the 1950s and was popularized in the late 80s. The terminology has sparked a debate as to what is “normal ageing" which would have a high risk of illness and "successful ageing" with low risk of disability and high cognitive and physical functioning.

Successful ageing would consist of three components:
1. Low probability of disease or disability

2. High mental and physical function capacity

3. Active engagement with life Alternatively, terms such as "healthy ageing," "optimal ageing" have been proposed.

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The Ultimate Anti-aging Treatment

2008-02-12T11:23:00.000-08:00

To facilitate anti aging requires understanding aging. With this knowledge making the changes in life style and diet that can enhance the anti aging process.

Aging
In health care, Ageing or aging in the human body refers to the deterioration of the body the longer we live.

There are social, cognitive, cultural, and economic effects that result from and are effects of Aging. These can affect the way we live our lives, the quality of life we have and the way society views us. One of the ways we care for aging is anti aging treatments.

The Aging population is an important issue in many nations, especially those North of the equator. Thus, age has in influence on the functioning of the society we live in.

In science and biology, Aging is divided into cellular and organism Aging.

The Aging of an organism is is often noted by the declining ability to respond to stress, increased imbalanced homeostasis and increased risk of disease. Some researchers are treating aging as disease. As such, it is considered treatable.

Diet has been shown to play a large role in the anti aging promotion. Dietary intake is considered in a number of ways including nutrient intake, quantity of intake and toxic exposure.

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The Ear Nose Throat Eyes Connection

2008-02-12T10:36:00.000-08:00

Glutathione plays an important role in our ear nose throat eyes (ENT) health.

The primary way everything enters our body both good and bad is through the ear nose throat eyes. Actually our eyes are a secondary portal of entry.

The things entering can be good such as breathing, sound and food. It can also be potentially damaging to the body. These include toxins, bacteria's, viruses, and carcinogens. It would only seem natural that the human body would have a defense systems to protect the points of entry.

The good news...it does. It is called the immune system. It is a formidable military force. The strongest front line defense is the marine like tripeptide glutathione. It is not only in each cell, it is in the respiratory tract lining fluid (RTLF). Glutathione is the main antioxidant in this fluid.

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The Upper Respiratory Tract

It depletes with age

The weakest point of the human body would be the place of greatest risk of attack by infection and toxins. Glutathione is the primary defense for the nose and throat.

General Otolaryngology
LaryngitisParotitis (inflammation of the parotid gland)
Pharyngitis (inflammation of the pharynx producing symptoms similar to tonsillitis)
Sleep apneaSnoringTonsillitis (inflammation of tonsils producing pain)
odynophagia (painful swallowing fever etc)
HyperthyroidismThyroid cancer
Sore throat
Strep throat
Esophageal cancer

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The Optimum Level of Antioxidants

2008-02-12T10:28:00.000-08:00

The epidemiological evidence and the guidelines of the National Cancer Institute and the National Research Council/National Academy of Sciences suggest that at least two fruits and three vegetables per day is a desirable intake.

Since ascorbate, tocopherol, and ß-carotene supplements are inexpensive and high doses are remarkably non-toxic, there is a school that believes that supplements, in addition to a diet containing recommended levels of fruits and vegetables, are desirable.

There is suggestive, but inadequate epidemiological and biochemical evidence bearing on the question. What is clear is that fruits and vegetables contain many necessary micronutrients in addition to antioxidants, some of which also can prevent mutations. Folic acid, for example, is required for the synthesis of the nucleotides in DNA.

Inadequate intake has been shown to cause chromosome breaks and increased cancer and birth defects. Folate deficiency may be a risk factor for myocardial infarction as well. Niacin is required for making poly (ADP-ribose), a component of DNA repair. Other micronutrients are also likely to be part of our defense systems.

The U.S. Recommended Daily Allowances (RDAs) for ascorbate and tocopherol intake--there is no guideline for [[beta]]-carotene independent of its provitamin A activity--are not adequate for several reasons:

1) The amount recommended, e.g., 60 mg/day for ascorbate, is primarily for avoiding an observable deficiency syndrome, e.g., scurvy, and is not necessarily the amount for optimum lifetime health, which is usually not known.

2) A recommended blood level of each antioxidant, e.g., 60 uM ascorbate, would be a more desirable standard. People vary considerably in the intake required to keep their blood level adequate. A smoker, for example, needs to take in several times as much ascorbate as a non-smoker to keep the blood level the same.

Infections may also cause an oxidative stress that leads to antioxidant depletion by activating phagocytic cells. The observation that antioxidant inadequacy is associated with oxidative damage to DNA of the germ line as well as somatic cells, emphasizes the urgency of defining adequate blood levels.

Since only 9% of Americans, and fewer in most other countries, are eating five fruits and vegetables per day, there is a great opportunity to improve health by increasing consumption.

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Oxidant stress, Birth defects, and Childhood Cancer

2008-02-12T10:23:00.000-08:00

Oxidative lesions in sperm DNA are increased 250% when levels of dietary ascorbate is insufficient to keep seminal fluid ascorbate to an adequate level. A sizable percentage of the U.S. population ingest inadequate levels of dietary ascorbate, particularly single males, the poor, and smokers. The oxidants in cigarette smoke deplete the antioxidants in plasma. Smokers must eat two to three times more ascorbate than non-smokers to achieve the same level of ascorbate in blood, but they rarely do.

In a comparison of sperm from smokers and nonsmokers Viczian found that the number of sperm and the percent of mobile sperm decrease significantly in smokers, and this decrease is dependent on the dose and duration of smoking.

Paternal smoking, in particular, appears to increase the risk of birth defects and childhood cancer in their offspring. One expects, and finds, a much larger contribution to the germ line mutation rate from the father than the mother, age of the father being an important risk factor. Thus, inadequate diets (and smoking) of fathers appear to result not only in damage to their own DNA but to the DNA of their sperm, an effect that may reverberate down future generations.

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Antioxidants and Brain Dysfunction

2008-02-12T10:17:00.000-08:00

Biochemical studies suggest that oxidation may be important in a number of brain pathologies. The few epidemiological studies are consistent with a protective effect of fruits and vegetables or antioxidants in a number of neurological pathologies, including brain ischemia, Parkinsons disease (PD), and familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (FALS), a degenerative disorder of motor neurons .

Ischemic episodes liberate iron, an important catalyst in oxygen radical forming reactions; iron chelators reduce neuron loss following this trauma. In individuals suffering from Parkinson's disease, oxidative DNA damaged is elevated within brain regions rich in dopaminergic neurons (E. Övervik, J. Sanchez-Ramos and B. Ames, unpublished). The most convincing evidence so far for a link between neurological disorders and oxygen radical formation is the strong association found between FALS and mutations in the Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase gene, suggesting that oxygen radicals might be responsible for the selective degeneration of motor neurons occurring in this fatal disease.

The protective role of superoxide dismutase against brain injury due to ischemia is supported by the finding that its overproduction is protective in a transgenic mouse model. Based on the similar protective effects against ischemia induced brain injury by inhibition of nitric oxide formation, and the recent evidence implicating these two radical species in cytotoxicity of neuronal cells, it would appear that peroxynitrite, a powerful oxidant formed from the combination of superoxide anion radical and nitric oxide, plays an important role in neuronal injury following ischemia and reperfusion.

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Antioxidants and Cataracts

2008-02-12T10:11:00.000-08:00

Cataract removal is the most common operation in the U.S. (1.2 million per year) with costs of over 3 billion dollars.

Taylor has recently reviewed the impressive evidence that cataracts have an oxidative etiology and that dietary antioxidants can prevent their formation in humans. Five epidemiological studies that have examined the effect of dietary antioxidants on cataracts show strong preventative effects of ascorbate, tocopherol, and carotenoids. Those individuals taking daily supplements of ascorbate or tocopherol had about one-third the risk.

Smoking, a severe oxidative stress, is a major risk factor for cataracts and radiation, an oxidative mutagen, is well-known to cause cataracts.

Eye proteins show an increased level of methionine sulfoxide with age and proteins in human cataracts have over 60 percent of their methionine residues oxidized. Pregnant mice depleted of Glutathione, the main sulfhydryl antioxidants in cells, produce offspring with cataracts. The most promising preventative strategy against cataracts appears to be to increase dietary antioxidants and to decrease smoking.

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Antioxidants, and the Immune System

2008-02-11T09:03:00.000-08:00

The proliferation of T and B cells, natural killer cells, and lymphokine activated killer cells that are required to mount an effective defense against pathogens and tumor cells appear to be inhibited markedly with age and upon exposure to oxidants. These effects can, in part, be counteracted in elderly individuals by dietary antioxidant supplementation. While the endogenous sources of oxidants that lead to the suppression of lymphocyte dependent immunity are not known, in vitro studies have demonstrated that polymorphonuclear leucocytes and macrophages, both can inhibit proliferation of various lymphocyte subpopulations through the production of reactive oxygen intermediates and the prostaglandin metabolite PGE2 as well as from nitric oxide.

This suggests that conditions that involve infiltration of polymorphonuclear leucocytes and macrophages (i.e., chronic inflammatory diseases), could result in compromised lymphocyte function. The suppressive effects of macrophages on mitogen induced lymphocyte proliferation can be reversed partially by thiol reagents, catalase or indomethacin, or by NG-monomethyl-L-arginine, a competitive inhibitor of nitric oxide synthesis.

The age associated decrease in cell mediated immunity may be due to a decreased level of certain small molecule antioxidant and antioxidant enzymes that accompany the aging process.

Calorie restriction, a dietary regimen that increases maximal lifespan in rodents also enhances T lymphocyte responsiveness possibly by slowing the rate of thymus involution and by boosting the level of cellular antioxidant defenses.

Antioxidants and cardiovascular disease

2008-02-11T09:00:00.000-08:00

A major development in cardiovascular disease research is the finding that oxidation reactions play a central role in atherogenesis and that in epidemiological studies cardiovascular disease is associated with low plasma concentrations of ascorbate, tocopherol and ß-carotene.

A wealth of evidence suggests that oxidative modification of apolipoprotein B100 plays a key role in LDL recognition and that LDL uptake by scavenger receptors in macrophages leads to foam cell formation and atheroschlerotic plaques.

Apolipoprotein B100 can be altered by reactive products of lipid peroxidation that causes a net decrease in positive charge, a modification that leads to its recognition by the scavenger receptors. The beneficial effects of dietary Antioxidants is also strengthened by animal and biochemical studies.

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Antioxidants and Cancer

2008-02-11T08:54:00.000-08:00

A critical factor in mutagenesis is cell division. When the cell divides, an unrepaired DNA lesion can give rise to a mutation. Thus an important factor in mutagenesis, and therefore carcinogenesis, is the cell division rate in the precursors of tumor cells. Stem cells are important as precursor cells in cancer because they are not on their way to being discarded. Increasing their cell division rate would increase mutation. As expected, there is little cancer in non-dividing cells. Such diverse agents as chronic infection high levels of particular hormones, or chemicals at doses that cause cell death result in increased cell division and therefore an increased risk for cancer.

Oxidants form one important class of agents that stimulate cell division. This may be related to the stimulation of cell division that occurs during the inflammatory process accompanying wound healing. Antioxidants therefore can decrease mutagenesis, and thus carcinogenesis, in two ways:

by decreasing oxidative DNA damage and by decreasing cell division. Of great interest is the understanding of mechanisms by which tocopherol and carotenoids can prevent cell division

There is an increasing literature on the protective role of dietary tocopherol, ascorbate, and ß-carotene in lowering the incidence of a wide variety of human cancer.

Antioxidants can counteract the induction of cancer in rodents by a variety of carcinogens. Two of the major causes of cancer, cigarette smoke and chronic inflammation, both appear to involve oxidants in their mechanism of action.

Almost all of the epidemiological studies that examined the relation between Antioxidant levels and cigarette-induced lung cancer showed a statistically significant protective effect of Antioxidants.

Antioxidants inhibit much of the pathology of cigarette smoke in rodents.

Inflammatory reactions release large amounts of NO, a radical, nitrosating agent, and indirect mutagenic oxidant. Ascorbate inhibits nitrosation under physiological conditions.

Antioxidants help to protect against the carcinogenic effects of chronic inflammation, as discussed above.

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Dietary antioxidants

2008-02-11T08:47:00.000-08:00

The effect of dietary intake of the antioxidants ascorbate, tocopherol, and carotenoids is difficult to disentangle by epidemiological studies from other important vitamins and ingredients in fruits and vegetables.

Nevertheless, several arguments suggest that the antioxidants content of fruits and vegetables is a major contributor to their protective effect.

1) Biochemical data, discussed above shows that oxidative damage is massive and is likely to be the major endogenous damage to DNA, proteins, and lipids.

2) Studies showing that oxidative damage to sperm DNA is increased when dietary ascorbate is insufficient

3) Epidemiological studies and intervention trials on prevention of cancer and heart disease in people taking antioxidants supplements are suggestive, though larger studies need to be done. Clinical trials using antioxidants will be the critical test for many of the ideas.

4) Studies on oxidative mechanisms and epidemiology on antioxidants protection for individual degenerative diseases.

Small molecule dietary antioxidants such as Vitamin C (ascorbate), Vitamin E (tocopherol), and carotenoids have generated particular interest as anticarcinogens and as defenses against degenerative diseases. Most carotenoids have antioxidants activity, particularly against singlet oxygen and many, including ß-carotene, can be metabolized to Vitamin A (retinal)

We have called attention to a number of previously neglected physiological antioxidants including urate, bilirubin, carnosine, and ubiquinol. Ubiquinone (CoQ10), for example, is the critical small molecule for transporting electrons in mitochondria for the generation of energy. Its reduced form, ubiquinol, is an effective antioxidants in membranes.

Optimal levels of dietary ubiquinone/ubiquinol could be of importance in many of the
degenerative diseases.

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Antioxidants Protect Against Disease

2008-02-11T08:40:00.000-08:00

Many defense mechanisms within the organism have evolved to limit the levels of reactive oxidants and the damage they inflict. Among the defenses are enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase. The glutathione S-transferases inactivate reactive electrophilic mutagens, including the aldehyde products of lipid peroxidation.

There are also many structural defenses such as sequestering H202 generating enzymes in peroxisomes and chelating any free iron or copper salts in transferrin and ferritin or ceruloplasmin to avoid Fenton chemistry. Superoxide, however, can release iron from ferritin.

Oxidized DNA is repaired by a series of glycosylases that are specific for particular oxidized bases and possibly by non-specific excision repair enzymes. In the absence of cell division these oxidative lesions are removed from DNA quite effectively and the mutation rate is kept to a minimum. Oxidized proteins are degraded by proteases. Lipid hydroperoxides are destroyed by glutathione peroxidase.

Almost all of these defenses appear to be inducible, as are most other types of defenses, i.e., the amounts increase in response to damage. There is a large literature showing that cells respond to low levels of radiation, an oxidative mutagen, by inducing antioxidant defenses that help to protect them against mutation by high levels of radiation.

There is a tradeoff however, since the induction of these defenses makes the cell more sensitive to alkylating mutagens.

In addition to the protective effects of endogenous enzymatic antioxidant defenses, consumption of dietary antioxidants appears to be of great importance. Fruits and vegetables, the main source of antioxidants in the diet, are associated with a lowered risk of degenerative diseases. Block and her colleagues have recently reviewed 172 studies in the epidemiological literature that relate, with great consistency, the lack of adequate consumption of fruits and vegetables to cancer incidence.

The quarter of the population with low dietary intake of fruits and vegetables compared to the quarter with high intake has double the cancer rate for most types of cancer (lung, larynx, oral cavity, esophagus, stomach, colon and rectum, bladder, pancreas, cervix, and ovary). Data on the types of cancer known to be associated with hormone levels are not as consistent and show less protection by fruits and vegetables: for breast cancer the protective effect was about 30%. There is also literature on the protective effect of fruit and vegetable consumption on heart disease and stroke. Only 9% of Americans eat five servings of fruits and vegetables per day, the intake recommended by the National Cancer Insitute and the National Research Council. European countries with low fruit and vegetable intake (e.g., Scotland) are generally in poorer health and have higher rates of heart disease and cancer than countries with high intake (e.g., Greece).

The cost of fruits and vegetables is an important factor in discouraging consumption. Poorer people spend a higher percentage of their income on food, eat less fruits and vegetables, and have shorter life expectancy than wealthier people. A major contributor to health in this century was synthetic pesticides which markedly decreased the cost of food production and ensured that most of the crops planted would be eaten by humans rather than insects. Synthetic pesticide residues do not appear to be a significant cause of cancer.

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Aging is slowed by calorie or protein restriction

2008-02-11T08:34:00.000-08:00

In rodents a calorie restricted diet, significantly increases lifespan, decreases reproduction, and markedly decreases cancer rates.

It has been suggested that Darwinian fitness in animals is increased by the delay of reproductive function during periods of low food availability and that the saved resources are invested in maintenance of the body until food resources are available for successful reproduction.

Protein restriction appears to have the same effects on rodents as calorie restriction, though it is less well-studied. An understanding of mechanisms for this marked effect on aging and cancer is becoming clearer and may in good part be due to reduced oxidative damage.

The suggestion that maintenance functions are enhanced in calorie-restricted rats thus resulting in less oxidative damage is supported by the findings of more efficient DNA repair, better coupled mitochondrial respiration and a delay in the age-dependent decline of antioxidant defenses.

The higher level of antioxidant defenses could also account for the enhanced immune response in restricted animals. We have recently shown that either calorie or protein restriction decreases the rate of accumulation of oxidized protein that accompanies aging in rats and preliminary results suggest a decrease in preneoplastic foci and oxidative lesions in DNA as well.

Thus, the overall effect of these enhanced maintenance activities appears to be a reduction in oxidative damage to DNA and protein, a decrease in DNA and protein lesions, and a decrease in somatic mutations. Markedly lower mitotic rates are observed in a variety of tissues in calorie restricted compared to ad libitum fed rodent, which may also contribute to the decrease in tumor incidence.

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*Dietary restriction activates the pituitary adrenocorticotropic axis resulting in a decrease in the release of reproductive and mitogenic hormones. Decreases in mitogenic hormones such as insulin, TSH, growth hormone, estrogen, and prolactin decrease the likelihood of hormone-induced cancers, as has been shown in various animal studies. This is consistent with suppression of mitogenic hormones and decreased proto-oncogene expression. The lowered incidence of mammary tumors observed in calorie-restricted rats has been attributed to reduced circulating levels of the mammotropic hormones estrogen and prolactin.

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Aging and Dietary Restriction

2008-02-11T08:30:00.000-08:00

Evolutionary biologists have argued that aging is inevitable because of several tradeoffs. One tradeoff is that a considerable proportion of an animal's resources is devoted to reproduction at a cost to maintenance, which means that the maintenance of somatic tissues is less than that required for indefinite survival. Of the vast array of maintenance processes that are necessary to sustain normal function in somatic cells, those that defend the cell against metabolism derived oxidants are likely to play an important role.

Metabolism has costs: oxidants by-products of normal energy metabolism extensively damage DNA, proteins, and other molecules in the cell, and this damage accumulates with age.

Another tradeoff is that nature selects for many genes that have immediate survival value, but that may have long term deleterious consequences. The oxidative burst from phagocytic cells, for example, protects against death from bacterial and viral infections, but contributes to DNA damage, mutation, and cancer.

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Tobacco, cancer, and heart disease

2008-02-11T08:28:00.000-08:00

Smoking, which we and others argue is a major oxidative stress in addition to a source of mutagens, contributes to about one-third of U.S. cancer, about one-quarter of U.S. heart disease and, about 400,000 premature deaths per year in the U.S..

Tobacco is a major global cause of cancer, but it causes even more deaths by other diseases. Tobacco will cause about 3 million deaths per year worldwide in the l990s and will, at present rates of smoking, cause about l0 million deaths per year a few decades from now.

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Chronic infection, inflammation and cancer

2008-02-07T14:03:00.000-08:00

Leucocytes and other phagocytic cells combat bacteria, parasites, and virus-infected cells by destroying them with NO, O2. H2O2 a powerful oxidant mixture. These oxidants protect humans from immediate death from infection, but cause oxidative damage to DNA and mutation thereby contributing to the carcinogenic process.

Antioxidants appear to inhibit some of the pathology of chronic inflammation

Chronic infections contribute to about one-third of the world's cancer. Hepatitis B and C viruses infect about 500 million people, mainly in Asia and Africa, and are a major cause of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Another major Chronic infections is schistosomiasis, which is caused by a parasitic worm that is widespread in China and Egypt. The Chinese worm lays its eggs in the colon, producing inflammation that often leads to colon cancer. The Egyptian worm lays eggs in the bladder, promoting bladder cancer.

Opisthorchis viverrini and Chlonorchis sinensis are liver flukes that infect millions of people in China, Thailand, Laos, and Malaysia. These worms cause chronic inflammation of the biliary tract and markedly increase the risk for developing cholangiocarcinoma.

Helicobacter pylori bacteria, which infect the stomachs of over one-third the world population, appear to be the major cause of stomach cancer, ulcers, and gastritis.

In wealthy countries the disease is usually asymptomatic, which indicates that the effects of inflammation are at least partially suppressed, possibly in part, by adequate levels of dietary Antioxidants.

chronic inflammation resulting from noninfectious sources also to various pathological conditions leading to cancer. For example, chronic inflammation due to asbestos exposure may be in good part the reason it is a significant risk factor for cancer of the lung.

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Sources and Effects of Oxidants

2008-02-07T13:57:00.000-08:00

Four endogenous sources appear to account for most of the oxidants produced by cells:

1) As a consequence of normal aerobic respiration, mitochondria consume molecular oxygen, reducing it by sequential steps to produce H20. Inevitable by-products of this process, as stated above, are O2.-, H202, and .OH. About l012 oxygen molecules are processed by each rat cell daily, and the leakage of partially reduced oxygen molecules is about 2%, yielding about 2x1010 superoxide and hydrogen peroxide molecules per cell per day.

2) Phagocytic cells destroy bacteria or virus-infected cells with an oxidative burst of NO, O2.-, H2O2, and [[macron]]OCl. Chronic infection by viruses, bacteria, or parasites, results in a chronic phagocytic activity and consequent chronic inflammation, which is a major risk factor for cancer. Chronic infections are particularly prevalent in third world countries.

3) Peroxisomes, which are organelles responsible for degrading fatty acids and other molecules, produce H202 as a byproduct, which is then degraded by catalase. Evidence suggests that, under certain conditions, some of the peroxide escapes degradation, resulting in its release into other compartments of the cell and in increased oxidative DNA damage.

4) Cytochrome P450 enzymes in animals constitute one of the primary defense systems against natural toxic chemicals from plants, the major source of dietary toxins. The induction of these enzymes, prevent acute toxic effects from foreign chemicals, but also results in oxidant by-products that damage DNA (Park, J.-Y. K. and Ames, B.N., unpublished).

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Three exogenous sources may significantly increase the large endogenous oxidant load.

1) The oxides of nitrogen (NOx) in cigarette smoke (about 1000 ppm) cause oxidation of macromolecules, and deplete antioxidant levels. This is likely to contribute significantly to the pathology of smoking. Smoking is a risk factor for heart disease as well as a wide variety of cancers in addition to lung cancer.

2) Iron (and copper) salts promote the generation of oxidizing radicals from peroxides (Fenton chemistry). Men who absorb significantly more than normal amounts of dietary iron due to a genetic defect (hemochromatosis disease) are at an increased risk for both cancer and heart disease. It has therefore been argued that too much dietary copper or iron, particularly heme iron (which is high in meat), is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and cancer in normal men

3) Normal diets contain plant food with large amounts of natural phenolic compounds, such as chlorogenic and caffeic acid, that may generate oxidants by redox cycling .

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Oxidation and Damage to DNA, Protein, and Lipids

2008-02-07T13:51:00.000-08:00

Oxidative damage to DNA, proteins and other macromolecules accumulates with age and has been postulated to be a major, but not the only, type of endogenous damage leading to aging. Superoxide(O2.-), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and hydroxyl radical (.OH), which are mutagens produced by radiation, are also by-products of normal metabolism. Lipid peroxidation gives rise to mutagenic lipid epoxides, lipid hydroperoxides, lipid alkoxyl and peroxyl radicals, and enals ([[alpha]], ß-unsaturated aldehydes). Singlet oxygen, a high energy and mutagenic form of oxygen, can be produced by transfer of energy from light, the respiratory burst from neutrophils, or lipid peroxidation.

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Animals have numerous antioxidants defenses, but since these defenses are not perfect, some DNA is oxidized. Oxidatively damaged DNA is repaired by enzymes that excise the lesions, which are then excreted in the urine. We have developed methods to assay several of these excised damaged bases in the urine of rodents and humans almost all of which appear as the free base from repair by glycosylases. We estimate that the number of oxidative hits to DNA per cell per day is about l00,000 in the rat and about l0,000 in the human. DNA repair enzymes efficiently remove most, but not all, of the lesions formed. Oxidative lesions in DNA accumulate with age, so that by the time a rat is old (2 years) it has about two million DNA lesions per cell, which is about twice that in a young rat. Mutations also accumulate with age . For example, the somatic mutation frequency in human lymphocytes, of which the contribution of oxidative DNA lesions is unknown, is about nine times greater in elderly people than in neonates. The importance of oxidative DNA lesions in cancer and aging is underscored by the existence of specific repair glycosylases that excise these lesions from DNA. In the case of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine, a lesion formed from oxidative damage to guanine residues in DNA, loss of a specific glycosylase activity leads to an appreciable increase in the spontaneous mutation rate, indicating the intrinsic mutagenic potential of this DNA lesion. Many other oxidative DNA lesions are likely to be important as well.

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Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from rat liver has more than ten times the level of oxidative DNA damage than does nuclear DNA from the same tissue. This increase may be due to a lack of mtDNA repair enzymes, lack of histones protecting mtDNA, and the proximity of mtDNA to oxidants generated during oxidative phosphorylation. The cell defends itself against this high rate of damage by a constant turnover of mitochondria, thus presumably removing those damaged mitochondria that produce increased oxidants. Despite this turnover, oxidative lesions appear to accumulate with age in mtDNA at a higher rate than in nuclear DNA.

Oxidative damage could also account for the mutations in mtDNA that accumulate with age

Endogenous oxidants also damage proteins. Stadtman and his colleagues have shown that the proteolytic enzymes that hydrolyze oxidized proteins are not sufficient to prevent an age-associated accumulation of oxidized proteins. In two human diseases associated with premature aging, Werner's syndrome and progeria, oxidized proteins accumulate at a much higher rate than is normal. Fluorescent age pigments, which are thought to be due in part to cross-links between protein and lipid peroxidation products, also accumulate with aging.

Oxidants, Antioxidants, and the Degenerative Diseases of Aging

2008-02-07T13:41:00.000-08:00

Metabolism, like other aspects of life, involves trade-offs. Oxidant by-products of normal metabolism cause extensive damage to DNA, protein, and lipid. We argue that this damage (the same as that produced by radiation) is a major contributor to aging and to degenerative diseases of aging such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, immune system decline, brain dysfunction and cataracts. Antioxidant defenses against this damage include ascorbate, tocopherol and carotenoids. Fruits and vegetables are the principal source of ascorbate and carotenoids and are one source of tocopherol. Low dietary intake of fruits and vegetables doubles the risk of most types of cancer as compared to high intake and also markedly increases the risk of heart disease and cataracts. Since only 9% of Americans eat the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables per day the opportunity for improving health by improving diet is great.

The degenerative diseases associated with aging include cancer, cardiovascular disease, immune system decline, brain dysfunction, and cataracts. The functional degeneration of somatic cells during aging appears, in good part, to contribute to these diseases. The relationship between cancer and age in various mammalian species illustrates this point. Cancer increases with about the fifth power of age in both short-lived species, such as rats, and in long-lived species, such as humans.

Thus a marked decrease in age-specific cancer rates has accompanied the marked increase in life span that has occurred in 60 million years of mammalian evolution: i.e., cancer rates are high in a two year old rat, but low in a two year old human. One important factor in longevity appears to be basal metabolic rate, which is about seven times higher in a rat than a human and which could markedly affect the level of endogenous oxidants and other mutagens produced as by-products of metabolism. The level of oxidative DNA damage appears to be roughly related to metabolic rate in a number of mammalian species (cancer/mutation/endogenous DNA adducts/oxygen radicals)

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By Bruce N. Ames*, Mark K. Shigenaga, and Tory M. Hagen

Antioxidants May Reduce Harmful Complications Of Diabetes

2008-02-07T13:33:00.000-08:00

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- April 20, 1998 -- Duke University Medical Center researchers have found that the depletion of body chemicals called antioxidants may increase the risk of complications from the most common form of diabetes.

The scientists recommend that diabetics take antioxidants supplements, such as vitamin C or E, to help stave off or even forestall the hallmark complications of diabetes, including blindness, kidney failure, amputation and even death.

antioxidants neutralise oxygen free radicals, highly-reactive chemicals that are the potentially-destructive by-products of the body's process of turning food into energy. Normally, the body produces enough antioxidants of its own to keep the reactive oxygen from causing damage.

"We were able to show that patients with poor control of their diabetes who were beginning to show signs of complications had depleted their store of antioxidants ," said Duke researcher Dr. Emmanuel Opara. "Further, we found a significant correlation between high blood-sugar levels and depletion of antioxidants . It appears that this depletion is a major risk factor for developing complications and that antioxidants supplements could lower this risk."

Opara presented his studies yesterday at Experimental Biology `98, the annual scientific meeting of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB).
The researchers studied 50 similar people with Type II diabetes -- also known as non-insulin-dependent or adult-onset diabetes. In this form of the disease, insulin produced in the body is unable to trigger the lowering of high blood sugar. Type II diabetes afflicts about 90 percent of the estimated 10.7 million Americans diagnosed with the disease and the 5.4 million believed to have undiagnosed cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Insulin is the hormone that normally regulates the level of sugar (glucose) in the blood and is produced by cells in the pancreas. Insulin is secreted when the level of blood glucose rises -- as after a meal.

All diabetic patients in the study were taking only drugs referred to as sulfonylureas, which increase the sensitivity of receptors to insulin throughout the body. Half the patients exhibited microalbuminuria, the excretion of tiny amounts of protein in the urine that is considered a precursor of kidney disease, while the other half did not. T

he researchers took blood samples from all 50 patients, as well as a control group of 20 similar people without diabetes and determined levels of antioxidantsin their blood.
"We found that the non-diabetics' ability to defend against damage from the oxygen free radicals was almost twice that of those patients exhibiting microalbuminuria," Opara explained. "And while the difference between the two diabetic groups was not as pronounced, the difference was still statistically significant. Also, antioxidants depletion correlated with high blood sugar after meals only in the group with microalbuminuria."

The researchers determined antioxidants levels by a new chemical assay developed at King's College in England that enabled them to measure all known antioxidants in the blood and to obtain a more global picture of the body's total antioxidants capacity, Opara said. Other assays are only specific for individual antioxidants.

Using the newly-developed assay, the scientists rated the ability of the non-diabetics to defend against Free radicals damage at 2.7, compared with 1.4 for those with microalbuminuria and 1.7 for the diabetics without microalbuminuria.

Though the exact mechanism of action of the oxygen Free radicals is not yet clear, these findings confirm in humans earlier animal studies of the chemicals' role in damage in diabetes, Opara said. Previous Duke studies by Opara have shown that vitamin E can delay the development of diabetes in obese rats with Type II diabetes and that the depletion of the antioxidants Glutathione caused diabetes in another rat model.

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"The results we've been seeing in our animal studies are now being borne out in humans,” Opara said. "I recommend that since the body has many antioxidants , diabetics should take a number of these agents, including vitamins C and E and Glutathione."

The diabetic patients involved in the current study come from Egypt, and their samples were brought to Duke by E. Abdel-Rahman, one of Opara's collaborators.

Glutathione Deficiency Predicts Poor Survival In HIV Subjects

2008-02-07T13:27:00.000-08:00

Glutathione (GSH) deficiency in patients with HIV infection is a strong predictor of poor survival,according to a report published in today's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Stanford University researchers have also discovered that, when used in combination with CD4 cell counts, Glutathione levels can provide a more accurate means of tracking the progression of HIV disease.

Dr. Leonard A. Herzenberg and colleagues in Stanford, California, report the results of in vitro studies in which they evaluated blood samples from 204 HIV-positive patients. They found subjects with Glutathione deficiency had a markedly decreased survival 2-3 years after baseline data collectionwhen compared with subjects without Glutathione deficiency.

Patients with CD4 T cell counts below 200 per microliter also had lower Glutathione levels compared with subjects in earlier stages of HIV infection.

According to Dr. Herzenberg, this study shows for the first time that people with HIV who have lower Glutathione levels have a much lower probability of surviving over the course of three years than do people with normal Glutathione levels. He has presented preliminary reports of these findings at recent meetings.

Dr. Herzenberg also found that Glutathione levels were replenished following oral administration of the glutathione, which suggests a potential intervention to relieve this impairment. If these findings can be replicated, Dr. Herzenberg writes, "...they will provide the foundation for the use of N-acetylcysteine as an inexpensive, nontoxic adjunct therapy for HIV/AIDS, potentially valuable even in remote locations where only minimal medical supervision is available."

Dr. Herzenberg's group believes that HIV-positive subjects should avoid excessive exposure to UV irradiation, alcohol and drugs, such as acetaminophen, which are known to deplete Glutathione levels. And, based on these findings, Dr. Herzenberg and others have asked the FDA to require drug companies to include labeling on products known to deplete Glutathione because of the potential hazard to HIV-positive patient.

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The Role of Glutathione in Eye Care

2008-02-07T13:22:00.000-08:00

TYPICALLY the need for reading glasses comes on in the 40s or 50s. The common cause of this is a loss of flexibility in the eye's lens.

The fact that it is a common occurrence does not mean that it cannot be treated if treated soon enough.

Equally important is that the process of decline is also associated with the development of cataracts and general declines in overall health, so one basic treatment helps the body's overall health.

***Note that there might possibly be other problems, and consulting with a physician is always wise where critical health concerns are an issue.

A shortage of the amino acid Glutathione is the primary culprit in the eye decline noted above.

Glutathione slows down the breakdown of DNA within the lens. It protects certain proteins in the lens from oxidizing. It aids in the transport of calcium, potassium, and sodium into the lens.

Declines in these are all contributors to the decline in the health of the lens, its increasing rigidity, and the develoment of cataracts.

Supplementation of Glutathione will resolve the problem -- if done soon enough after the decline in vision is noted. Increasing the Glutathione level in the eye may actually restore some flexibility.

However, if the lens is too rigid, reversing the damage is not possible. At least, though, further decline and develoment of cataracts may be prevented.

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Glutathione helps to support the proper functioning

2008-02-07T13:15:00.000-08:00

Glutathione helps to support the proper functioning of your immune system , and will improve immune system already in retreat.

Glutathione acts as an powerful antioxidant and Free radicals scavenger, thereby protecting our DNA and RDA from damage due to many environmental factors.

Glutathione acts as the regulator of other powerful antioxidant.

Glutathione acts as a detoxifying agent, removing foreign objects, chemicals and toxins from the body. As you age, your levels of Glutathione are depleted, thereby allowing the aging process to accelerate.

Levels of Glutathione can be sucessfully improved by taking a high quality nutritional supplement!

***Among the uses that have been reported for glutathione are:
treatment of poisoning, particularly heavy metal poisons
treatment of idiopathic pulmonary firbosis
increasing the effectiveness and reducing the toxicity of cis-platinum, a chemo drug used to treat breast cancer
treating Parkinson's disease
lowering blood pressure in patients with diabetes
increasing male sperm counts in humans and animals
treatment of liver cancer
treatment of sickle cell anemia
http://www.healthline.com/galecontent/glutathione

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Cysteine, Glutamic Acid and Glycine- immune system

2008-02-07T13:06:00.000-08:00

Glutathione is a tri-peptide composed of three amino acids: Cysteine, Glutamic Acid and Glycine.

Glutathione and the enzymes it forms, such as GTH peroxidase, are essential to all life and are found in tissues of virtually all plants and animals. GTH is present in all human cells, with the highest levels found in the liver, the lenses of the eyes, pancreas, spleen and kidneys.

Glutathione acts as a powerful antioxidant, a key protector against all types of pollution and is effective in preventing aging. It protects DNA and RNA from free-radical damage.

Glutathione also protects against cellular peroxidation caused by exposure to pesticides, plastics, benzene and carbon tetrachloride, as well as heavy metals, cigarette smoke, smog, drugs, solvents, dyes, phenols and nitrates.

Glutathione works to inhibit the formation of free radicals, dangerous agents that suppress the immune system and promote the formation of mutagens and carcinogens.

Free radicals also speed up the aging process, and it is due to this powerful antioxidant activity that Glutathione is considered useful in the prevention and treatment of a wide range of degenerative diseases.

Studies at the Louisville School of Medicine have clearly shown that Glutathione possesses the unique ability to slow the aging process. While Glutathione aids in the protection of all cells and membranes, a study at Harvard Medical School found that Glutathione is especially able to enhance immune system cells, protecting against damage from radiation and helping to reduce the side effects of chemotherapy and x-rays and alcohol. As a detoxifier of metals and drugs, Glutathione also aids in the treatment of blood and liver disorders.

As individuals grow older, Glutathione levels drop, and the ability to detoxify free radicals decreases.

It can protect against cadmium, copper, and acetaminophen (the active agent in Tylenol) toxicity. Glutathione aids the liver in detoxification, slows the aging process, helps the cardiovascular and immune system, and is helpful in preventing or treating many other health conditions.

Supplementation may prevent, or be helpful with, the following conditions:
Aging
Alcoholism
Asthma
Atherosclerosis (heart disease)
Cancer
Cataracts
Dizziness
Hepatitis
Immunodepression (immune function)
Infertility (male)
Memory Loss (Alzheimer's disease, dementia)
Osteoarthritis
Parkinson's Disease
Peptic Ulcers

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Inflammation, Free Radicals, and Cytokines

2008-02-06T13:07:00.000-08:00

Although acute Inflammation is an important immune system response, chronic inflammation has also been linked to many diseases, including heart disease. Besides the pro-Inflammation cytokines, Inflammation may be related to the overproduction of free radicals (Janeway CA et al 1999).

A free radical is an atom or group of atoms (i.e., a molecule) with unpaired electrons. Free radicals are extremely unstable and react easily with other molecules, thereby changing their chemical composition. Oxygen is especially susceptible to free radical formation. The free radicals derived from oxygen are known as reactive oxygen species, or oxidants.

When the body has increased levels of reactive oxygen species (i.e., when it is experiencing oxidative stress), widespread damage may result. At high concentrations free radicals can damage fats, proteins, and nucleic acids. They can also cause cell death, gene mutations, and cancer ( Moslen MT 1994). Several diseases may be the result of cellular and genetic damage caused by free radicals, including several immune disorders ( Moslen MT 1994).

In order to reduce the damage caused by elevated free radicals and cytokines (which are both part of the natural immune system), the body fights back by producing antioxidants and hormones such as cortisol to suppress the immune system (Grimble RF 1996). Antioxidants are valuable because they pair with unstable free radicals, thereby limiting the damage free radicals can inflict on other cells.

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Phagocytic cells

2008-02-06T13:02:00.000-08:00

Phagocytic cells engulf foreign cells and destroy them. The phagocytic cells are white blood cells and include neutrophils, eosinophils, and macrophages; they have short lives and must be continually replenished by the body. Neutrophils and macrophages are a very important aspect of the innate defenses of the body (Janeway CA et al 1999; Beers MB 2004).

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More study:
Polymorphonuclear leukocytes isolated from chicken peritoneal exudates have been found to catalyze cyanide-insensitive stimulation of respiration and the hexose monophosphate shunt upon exposure to heat-inactivated Staphylococcus aureus.

However, there was no demonstrable formate oxidation concomitant with phagocytosis in either the presence or absence of exogenous catalase. Moreover, chicken polymorphonuclear leukocytes failed to oxidize scopoletin concomitant with phagocytosis in the presence of horseradish peroxidase. While oxygen uptake was increased 2- to 3-fold by the stimulus of phagocytosis, the oxidation of [1-(14)C]glucose was increased approximately 20-fold.

The cells contain two mechanisms, a Glutathione reductase-Glutathione peroxidase system and an NADPH-NAD+ transhydrogenase, each of which is present in sufficient capacity to accommodate the enhanced shunt activity.

Although chicken polymorphonuclear leukocytes were found to possess a substantial capacity to catalyze the cyanide-insensitive oxidation of either NADH or NADPH, the total or specific activities of such processes were not demonstrably affected by phagocytosis.

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Inflammation and fever

2008-02-06T12:56:00.000-08:00

Inflammation is a nonspecific response to infection or tissue injury. The four signs of the inflammatory response are redness, swelling, heat, and pain.

Inflammation begins when cells release certain cytokines, including interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha ) (Janeway CA et al 1999; Beers MB 2004).

Inflammation is a process by which the body’s white blood cells and chemicals protect us from infection and foreign substances such as bacteria and viruses.

In some diseases, however, the body’s defense system (immune system) inappropriately triggers an Inflammation response when there are no foreign substances to fight off. In these diseases, called autoimmune diseases, the body’s normally protective immune system causes damage to its own tissues. The body responds as if normal tissues are infected or somehow abnormal.

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Physical and chemical barriers

2008-02-06T12:53:00.000-08:00

The body's first lines of defense are the skin and mucous membranes, which prevent the entrance of many pathogens.

There are many secondary barriers.

For example, tears, sweat, and saliva combat some bacteria, and the hydrochloric acid and protein-digesting enzymes secreted by the stomach are lethal to many, but not all, pathogens (Janeway CA et al 1999; Beers MB 2004).

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The Immune System

2008-02-06T12:46:00.000-08:00

The immune system is an elegant and complex set of components that combine to fight disease, infections, and various pathogens. A healthy immune system distinguishes organisms in the body as “self” or “non-self.” An intact immune response identifies pathogens as “non-self” and rapidly destroys them. A depressed immune system, by contrast, will allow invading organisms to flourish.

Furthermore, when the immune system mistakenly recognizes a “self” cell as “non-self” and mounts an immune response, the result is an autoimmune disorder such as rheumatoid arthritis.

In general, the body has two primary defense mechanisms: natural immunity and acquired immunity. Natural immunity is the “first responder” to an attack. The natural immune response relies on various white blood cells and physical barriers to block or immediately attack any foreign invader and attempt to destroy it.

Acquired immunity, on the other hand, involves antibodies that are created in response to specific foreign antigens. This sort of response requires a few days for the body to recognize the invader and manufacture antibodies against it. Once the body has manufactured a particular antibody for a specific invader, the immune system response is faster and more effective the next time that invader appears (Janeway CA et al 1999; Beers MB 2004).

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Dietary supplement helps to keep immune system balanced

2008-02-06T12:36:00.000-08:00

Stanford researchers have found that giving patients who are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) a daily dose of a dietary supplement can boost their levels of Glutathione a nutrient essential for proper functioning of the immune system. Restoring glutathione levels to those found in healthy people may help HIV-infected patients fight the AIDS-causing virus and fend off other diseases.

"The importance here is that Glutathione is a central component of all cells, and Glutathione deficiency is associated with poor prognosis in many, many diseases," said Leonore (Lee) Herzenberg, PhD, professor of genetics. She is senior author of a paper describing the new study, published in the October 1 issue of the European Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Lee Herzenberg and her colleagues conducted a clinical trial in which 31 HIV-infected patients were given daily doses of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) a substance that is turned into Glutathione in the body. Thirty others were given a benign sugar pill. At the start of the trial all patients had Glutathione deficiency some patients had only half the amount found in healthy people. At the end of the two-month trial, those taking NAC had increased the amount of Glutathione in their bodies to near-normal levels.

"What we've proven is that giving people NAC replenishes the Glutathione stores," said Lee Herzenberg.

At the completion of the eight-week trial, most patients chose to take NAC for the following six months while the researchers continued monitoring the safety of the supplement. They found that patients suffered no ill effects that could be attributed to daily NAC ingestion.

Glutathione is not an anti-retroviral drug, stressed genetics professor Leonard (Len) Herzenberg, PhD. It does not decrease the amount of virus in patients' blood or increase their number of virus-fighting T cells, but it does restore the immune system, the researchers said.
Previous findings by the Herzenbergs and others show that T cells perform better in HIV-infected patients when their Glutathione levels are replenished. Reversal of Glutathione deficiency is also associated with improvement in many other diseases including diabetes, influenza and cystic fibrosis.

"The level of Glutathione is tightly regulated in cells. If nature has gone to the trouble of maintaining those levels, logic says it should be restored to that level if you can," said Lee Herzenberg. "It's like a vitamin deficiency. Any vitamin deficiency would immediately be corrected, and we believe that this is equivalent to a vitamin deficiency."

The Herzenberg team hopes that the benefits of maintaining normal Glutathione levels will encourage people suffering from long-term diseases to avoid lifestyle factors that deplete Glutathione, such as exposure to ultraviolet light and alcohol consumption. They also recommend limited use of acetaminophen the active ingredient in common painkillers such as Tylenol because the risk of liver damage is increased for those with low Glutathione levels.
The Herzenbergs are confident that the new findings will speed the introduction into the U.S. market of medicinal-quality NAC that AIDS patients and others can take to maintain normal Glutathione levels. BY KRISTIN WEIDENBACH

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Raised Glutathione Levels Help Balance Immune System

2008-02-06T12:19:00.000-08:00

Researchers from Germany and the US have found that Glutathione can boost the natural antioxidant system of the body.

The body carries many antioxidant defense systems, but inside cells a small protein called glutathione is crucial. Glutathione is essential for the function of immune cells, which protect us from viral and bacterial infections.

In people with immune deficiency, glutathione levels fall well below the normal levels in blood and immune cells. Restoring glutathione levels to those found in healthy people is likely to help immune deficient patients.

Two studies have recently been published with research backing up the claims that Glutathione helps fight disease, one in the European Journal of Clinical Investigation, from Stig Froland in Oslo, Norway, and the other by Leonore and Leonard Herzenberg, a husband and wife team from Stanford, California. The results of their work showed that glutathione levels could indeed be restored in AIDS patients and that this may improve the outlook for these patients.

Herzenberg and colleagues conducted a clinical trial in which 31 HIV-infected patients were given daily doses of Glutathione — and 30 others were given a benign sugar pill. According to the study published in the October 1 issue of the European Journal of Clinical Investigation, those taking Glutathione had increased the amount of glutathione in their bodies to near-normal levels at the end of the two-month trial.

“The importance here is that glutathione is a central component of all cells, and glutathione deficiency is associated with poor prognosis in many, many diseases,” said Herzenberg. “What we’ve proven is that giving people Glutathione replenishes the glutathione stores.”

The authors of the report concluded that “Glutathione offers useful adjunct therapy to increase protection against oxidative stress, improve immune system function and increase detoxification of acetaminophen and other drugs. These findings suggest Glutathione therapy could be valuable in other clinical situations in which there is GSH deficiency.”

“It is important to realize that these results are the culmination of over 10 years of research.” states Frank Staal, an immunologist from Rotterdam, The Netherlands, who worked in this field for many years. “The groups of Droge and Herzenberg were the first to demonstrate that Glutathione is low in AIDS and that this defect contributes to poor immune cell function." ImmuneSupport.com

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Rehabilitation therapy- Parkinson’s disease

2008-02-03T02:41:00.000-08:00

Rehabilitation therapy enhances the lives of people with Parkinson’s disease. A program of physical therapy and occupational therapy can help people learn movement strategies:

How to roll over and get out of bed more easily
How to rise from a chair or get out of a car

Therapists sometimes suggest simple devices to assist with daily activities, such as:
Shower grab bars
Shower stools
Elevated toilet seats

Occupational therapists and physical therapists have experience finding ways to help people button shirts, cook and generally keep their lives going. They know about special kinds of utensils that help keep food on a spoon or a fork. Even people with serious tremor, slowness or rigidity can use these utensils to feed themselves without making a mess.

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Parkinsonism

2008-02-03T02:37:00.000-08:00

Any person who has the signs and symptoms characteristic of Parkinson’s disease is said to have parkinsonism, but not every person with parkinsonism has Parkinson’s disease, it's only one of the possibilities.

Patients and their families need to understand parkinsonism, because some 20 to 25 percent of people diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease will eventually be discovered to have some other form of parkinsonism.

Parkinsonism may look like Parkinson’s disease, but over time it does not act like it.
For this reason, if you have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease it is important to see a neurologist who has experience diagnosing and treating this disorder.

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Parkinson's Disease Diagnosis

2008-02-03T02:29:00.000-08:00

It is difficult to diagnose Parkinson’s disease in the early stages. Early on, Parkinson’s disease is diagnosed almost primarily by its symptoms, and studies indicate that physicians make an incorrect initial diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease in between 10% and 40% of cases. Blood tests are not helpful for diagnosis.

Parkinson’s disease is just one of several neurologic movement disorders that produce similar symptoms.

It is important that the physician you are seeing has experience with all of the different disorders that can masquerade as Parkinson’s disease.

In some of these diseases people quickly become totally disabled; in others, the disease progresses extremely slowly; and in yet others, illness is chronic (always present) and may have more severe symptoms as time goes on. Because the natural history, or progression, of these diseases varies greatly, proper diagnosis is crucial. People need to know which disease they have.

The Neurologic Examination
When performing a neurologic examination to evaluate a patient with a movement disorder, the doctor takes a medical history and performs a physical examination. The doctor asks the patient and the family members or friends about symptoms and observes the patient, asking him or her to walk around the room, sit down, stand up, turn around, and so on.

Diagnostic Tests
Unfortunately, there is no diagnostic test that can confirm Parkinson’s disease. Laboratory testing of the blood of patients with the symptoms typical of Parkinson’s disease only rarely uncovers any abnormality.

Electroencephalograms (EEGs) record some aspects of brain electrical activity, but they are not effective in spotting Parkinson’s disease.

Important Roles of Glutathione
Fight against oxidative cell damage (Free Radicals)• Protein Synthesis• Amino Acid transport• Cellular detoxification• Immune system enhancement• Enzyme activation• Fight Inflammation• ATP (energy) production

Our cells are constantly under attack by Free Radicals, which can cause a reduction of our cells ability to function optimally.

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Parkinson Disease Symptom

2008-02-03T02:24:00.000-08:00

The following table lists some of the early signs and symptoms of Parkinson’s disease:
-Change in facial expression (staring, lack of blinking)
-Failure to swing one arm when walking
-Flexion (stooped) posture
-"Frozen" painful shoulder
-Limping or dragging of one leg
-Numbness, tingling, achiness or discomfort of the neck or limbs
-Softness of the voice
-Subjective sensation of internal trembling
-Resting tremor

The characteristic symptoms of moderate Parkinson's disease can be remembered with the acronym TRAP:
T
Tremor
Involuntary trembling of the limbs
R
Rigidity
Stiffness of the muscles
A
Akinesia
Lack of movement or slowness in initiating and maintaining movement
P
Postural instability
Characteristic bending or flexion of the body, associated with difficulty in balance and disturbances in gait

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Cause of Parkinson Disease

2008-02-03T02:14:00.000-08:00

Although Parkinson’s disease can occur from viral infections or exposure to environmental toxins, such as pesticides (gardeners and farmers are more prone to Parkinson's disease).

The causes of the majority of cases are not well known. Scientists suspect that oxidative damage to neurons in the substantia nigra could well be one of the major causes, particularly due to the depletion of the antioxidants glutathione.

People who sustain substantial head injuries face an increased risk of developing Parkinson’s disease years later.

The cause of Parkinson's disease is unknown.

Many researchers believe that several factors combined are involved: free radicals, accelerated aging, environmental toxins, and genetic predisposition.

It may be that free radicals—unstable and potentially damaging molecules that lack on electron—are involved in the degeneration of dopamine-producing cells.

Free radicals add an electron by reacting with nearby molecules in a process called oxidation, which can damage nerve cells.

Chemicals called antioxidants normally protect cells from oxidative stress and damage. If antioxidative action fails to protect dopamine-producing nerve cells, they could be damaged and, subsequently, Parkinson’s disease could develop.

Dysfunctional antioxidative mechanisms are associated with older age as well, suggesting that the acceleration of age-related changes in dopamine production may be a factor.

Exposure to an environmental toxin, such as a pesticide, that inhibits dopamine production and produces free radicals and oxidation damage may be involved.

Treatment for Parkinson’s disease

2008-02-03T02:06:00.000-08:00

The nutritional treatment for Parkinson’s disease is still an uncharted territory.

The most promising approach appears to be the use of antioxidant to slow the oxidation and damage to the substantia nigra.

It’s possible that additional nutritional approaches may be found in the future. Those who exercise regularly early in their adult life have a lower risk of Parkinson’s disease.

Over the past few decades, doctors have made important advances in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease with pharmaceutical medicines.

Improving the Antioxidant SystemOf all the nutritional treatments available for Parkinson’s disease, antioxidant appear to be the most promising choices to prevent or slow the progression of this condition.

Individuals whose diets include plenty of healthy foods containing antioxidant are less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease.

Patients should consume foods, such as fruits and vegetables, that contain glutathione or can help produce it.

Cyanohydroxybutene, a chemical found in broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and cabbage, is also thought to increase glutathione levels.

High intake of dairy products may lead to a higher incidence of Parkinson’s disease.

The following antioxidant may be helpful in addition to standard pharmaceutical therapy.

Your health practitioner may also suggest intravenous, intramuscular, or aerosol administration of glutathione supplements for increased effectiveness.

Glutathione -powerful antioxidant found within every cell

2008-02-03T01:51:00.000-08:00

Glutathione - or L Glutathione - is a powerful antioxidant found within every cell. Glutathione plays a role in nutrient metabolism, and regulation of cellular events (including gene expression, DNA and protein synthesis, cell growth, and immune response.

This antioxidant, made from the combination of three amino acids cysteine, glutamate, and glycine, forms part of the powerful natural antioxidant glutathione peroxidase which is found in our cells.

Glutathione peroxidase plays a variety of roles in cells, including DNA synthesis and repair, metabolism of toxins and carcinogens, enhancement of the immune system, and prevention of fat oxidation.

However, glutathione is predominantly known as an antioxidant protecting our cells from damage caused by the free radical hydrogen peroxide.

Glutathione also helps the other antioxidants in cells stay in their active form.

Brain glutathione levels have been found to be lower in patients with Parkinson’s disease.

Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson’s disease is a common neurological condition afflicting about 1 percent of men and women over the age of seventy. In Parkinson’s disease, a small region in the brain, called the substantia nigra, begins to deteriorate. The neurons of the substantia nigra use the brain chemical dopamine. With the loss of dopamine, tremors begin and movement slows. Despite current drug therapies, Parkinson’s disease remains a progressive and incurable condition. Many patients with Parkinson’s disease may also suffer from age related cognitive decline or have some of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.

Selenium

2008-01-23T14:49:00.000-08:00

Selenium is a co-factor for the enzyme glutathione peroxidase.

Selenium supplements have become popular because some studies suggest they may play a role in decreasing the risk of certain cancers, and in how the immune system and the thyroid gland function.

However, too much selenium can cause some toxic effects including gastrointestinal upset, brittle nails, hair loss and mild nerve damage.

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Consult your health professional before taking any kind of medicines.

Glutathione Strenthens your immune system

Lymphocytes, cells vital for your immune system , depend on Glutathione for their proper function and replication.IMMUNOLOGY 61: 503-508 1987

Balloon Flower Root

2008-01-23T14:45:00.000-08:00

Changkil saponins (CKS) isolated from the roots of the Chinese herbal medicine, Platycodon grandiflorum A.

DC (Campanulaceae), commonly called Balloon Flower Root or Jie Geng, have been found to increase intracellular glutathione (GSH) content and significantly reduce oxidative injury to liver cells, minimise cell death and lipid peroxidation.

Detoxifies your body
Antioxidants are well documented and known to possess vital roles in health maintenance and disease prevention. Glutathione is your cell's own major antioxidant.

Maintaining elevated Glutathione levels aids the body's natural antioxidant function.
Biochemical Pharmacology 47: 2113-2123 1994

Curcumin (Turmeric)

2008-01-23T14:41:00.000-08:00

Treatment of brain cells called astrocytes, with the Indian curry spice, curcumin (turmeric) has been found to increase expression of the glutathione S-transferase and protect neurons exposed to oxidant stress.

Glutathione in Health and Disease

It is believed that glutathione has an important role to play in the prevention and treatment of disease.

It may in the future be considered as important to health as an alkaline diet, exercise and alkaline lifestyle.

Clinical tests show that raised glutathione levels may address some of the eight major health issues of our time. '

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Undenatured Whey Protein Isolate

2008-01-23T14:39:00.000-08:00

Whey protein contains proteins like alpha-lactalbumin which is is rich in sulphur-containing amino acids.

Heating or pasteurization destroys the delicate disulphide bonds that give these proteins their bioactivity.

Undenatured whey protein is a non-heated product that preserves bioactive amino acids like cystine. It has been shown in numerous scientific studies and clinical trials to optimize glutathione levels.

Glutathione's three major roles in the body are summarized by the letters A-B-C.
- Anti-oxidant- Blood Booster- Cell Detoxifier

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Natural Foods That Boost Glutathione Levels

2008-01-23T14:35:00.000-08:00

Asparagus is a leading source of glutathione.

Foods like broccoli, avocado and spinach are also known to boost glutathione levels.

Raw eggs, garlic and fresh unprocessed meats contain high levels of sulphur-containing amino acids and help to maintain optimal glutathione levels.

THE MAX GXL is a PATENTED High Performance

Glutathione is an important and powerful antioxidant and is the body’s best anti-aging agent.

Alpha Lipoic Acid

2008-01-23T14:31:00.000-08:00

Food sources and dietary supplements that help boost glutathione levels naturally.

Alpha Lipoic Acid

Made naturally in body cells as a by-product of energy release, ALA increases the levels of intra-cellular glutathione, and is a natural antioxidant with free radical scavenging abilities.

It has the ability to regenerate oxidized antioxidants like Vitamin C and E and helps to make them more potent.

ALA is also known for its ability to enhance glucose uptake and may help prevent the cellular damage accompanying the complications of diabetes. It also has a protective effect in the brain.

Click here for more about Glutathione and its benefits to our body.

Milk Thistle, Silymarin

2008-01-23T14:26:00.000-08:00

Food sources and dietary supplements that help boost glutathione levels naturally.

Milk Thistle, Silymarin

Milk thistle is a powerful antioxidant and supports the liver by preventing the depletion of glutathione. Silymarin is the active compound of milk thistle.

It is a natural liver detoxifier and protects the liver from many industrial toxins such as carbon tetrachloride, and more common agents like alcohol.

Click here for more about Glutathione and its benefits to our body.

N-Acetyl-Cysteine (NAC)

2008-01-23T14:22:00.000-08:00

Food sources and dietary supplements that help boost glutathione levels naturally.

N-Acetyl-Cysteine (NAC)

It is derived from the amino acid L-Cysteine, and acts as a precursor of glutathione.

NAC is quickly metabolized into glutathione once it enters the body.

It has been proven in numerous scientific studies and clinical trials, to boost intracellular production of glutathione, and is approved by the FDA for treatment of accetaminophen overdose.

Because of glutathione mucolytic action, NAC is commonly used in the treatment of lung diseases like cystic fibrosis, bronchitis and asthma.

Click here for more about Glutathione and its benefits to our body.

Boost Glutathione Naturally

2008-01-23T14:14:00.000-08:00

Glutathione, the body's master antioxidant and detoxifier, is one of the 14 "Superfoods" listed in SuperFoods Rx : Fourteen Foods That Will Change Your Life, co-authored by Dr Steven Pratt.

Glutathione levels cannot be increased to a clinically beneficial extent by orally ingesting a single dose of Glutathione.

This is because Glutathione is manufactured inside the cell, from its precursor amino acids, glycine, glutamate and cystine.

Hence food sources or supplements that increase Glutathione must either provide the precursors of glutathione, or enhance its production by some other means.

The manufacture of Glutathione in cells is limited by the levels of its sulphur-containing precursor amino acid, cysteine.

Cysteine - as a free amino acid - is potentially toxic and is spontaneously catabolized or destroyed in the gastrointestinal tract and blood plasma.

However, when it is present as a cysteine-cysteine dipeptide, called cystine, it is more stable than cysteine.

Consuming foods rich in sulphur-containing amino acids can help boost Glutathione levels. by: Priya F Shah

Click here for more about Glutathione and its benefits to our body.

Exercise builds brain health: key roles of growth factor cascades and inflammation

2008-01-22T13:02:00.000-08:00

Human and other animal studies demonstrate that exercise targets many aspects of brain function and has broad effects on overall brain health.

The benefits of exercise have been best defined for learning and memory, protection from neurodegeneration and alleviation of depression, particularly in elderly populations.

Exercise increases synaptic plasticity by directly affecting synaptic structure and potentiating synaptic strength, and by strengthening the underlying systems that support plasticity including neurogenesis, metabolism and vascular function.

Such exercise-induced structural and functional change has been documented in various brain regions but has been best-studied in the hippocampus - the focus of this review.

A key mechanism mediating these broad benefits of exercise on the brain is induction of central and peripheral growth factors and growth factor cascades, which instruct downstream structural and functional change.

In addition, exercise reduces peripheral risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease, which converge to cause brain dysfunction and neurodegeneration.

A common mechanism underlying the central and peripheral effects of exercise might be related to inflammation, which can impair growth factor signaling both systemically and in the brain.

Thus, through regulation of growth factors and reduction of peripheral and central risk factors, exercise ensures successful brain function.

by: Carl W Cotman, Nicole C Berchtold, Lori-Ann Christie
Trends in Neurosciences, Vol. 30, No. 9. (September 2007), pp. 464-472

Important Roles of Glutathione
Fight against oxidative cell damage (Free Radicals)
• Protein Synthesis
• Amino Acid transport
• Cellular detoxification
• Immune system enhancement
• Enzyme activation
• Fight Inflammation
• ATP (energy) production
Our cells are constantly under attack by Free Radicals, which can cause a reduction of our cells ability to function optimally.

Click here for more about Glutathione and its benefits to our body.

Effect of glutathione depletion on antioxidant enzymes in the epididymis, seminal vesicles, and liver and on spermatozoa motility in the aging rat

2008-01-22T12:54:00.000-08:00

Effect of glutathione depletion on antioxidant enzymes in the epididymis, seminal vesicles, and liver and on spermatozoa motility in the aging brown Norway rat.
by: EV Zubkova, B Robaire - Biol Reprod, Vol. 71, No. 3. (September 2004), pp. 1002-1008.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play a role in male infertility, where excessive amounts impair spermatozoal motility.

Epididymal antioxidant enzymes protect spermatozoa from oxidative damage in the epididymal lumen. Antioxidant secretions from the seminal vesicle protect spermatozoa after ejaculation.

As it is known that with age there is increased generation of ROS, the goals of this study were to determine how aging affects the response of antioxidant enzymes in the epididymis, seminal vesicles, and liver to l-buthionine-S,R-sulfoximine (BSO) mediated glutathione (GSH) depletion, and to examine the impact of GSH depletion on motility parameters of spermatozoa from the cauda epididymidis in young (4-mo-old) and old (21-mo-old) rats.

Levels of GSH and glutathione disulfide (GSSG), as well as activities of glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, catalase, and superoxide dismutase, were measured in the caput, corpus and cauda epididymidis, seminal vesicles, and liver.

Spermatozoal motility was assessed by computer-assisted sperm analysis. Significant age-related changes in antioxidant enzyme activities were found in the liver and cauda epididymidis.

Glutathione age was most evident in the cauda epididymidis, seminal vesicles, and liver, where antioxidant enzyme activities changed significantly.

Additionally, spermatozoa motility was adversely affected after BSO treatment in both age groups, but significantly more so in older animals.

In summary, the male reproductive tissues and liver undergo age-related changes in antioxidant enzyme activities and in their response to GSH depletion.

THE MAX GXL is a PATENTED High Performance Formula which:Dramatically Raises Your Energy Level Slows Down The Aging Process Strengthens Your Immune System Fights Inflammation and Diseases of Aging Improves Athletic Performance & Recovery Detoxify Your Body

Vitamin E on glutathione-dependent enzymes

2008-01-22T12:46:00.000-08:00

Reactive oxygen species and various electrophiles are involved in the etiology of diseases varying from cancer to cardiovascular and pulmonary disorders.

The human body is protected against damaging effects of these compounds by a wide variety of systems. An important line of defense is formed by antioxidants.

Vitamin E (consisting of various forms of tocopherols and tocotrienols) is an important fat-soluble, chain-breaking antioxidant.

Besides working as an antioxidant, this compound possesses other functions with possible physiological relevance.

The glutathione-dependent enzymes form another line of defense.

Two important enzymes in this class are the free radical reductase and glutathione S-transferases (GSTs).

The GSTs are a family of phase II detoxification enzymes. They can catalyze glutathione conjugation with various electrophiles.

In most cases the electrophiles are detoxified by this conjugation, but in some cases the electrophiles are activated.

Antioxidant do not act in isolation but form an intricate network. It is, for instance, known that vitamin E, together with glutathione (GSH) and a membrane-bound heat labile GSH-dependent factor, presumably an enzyme, can prevent damaging effects of reactive oxygen species on polyunsaturated fatty acids in biomembranes (lipid peroxidation).

This manuscript reviews the interaction between the two defense systems, vitamin E and glutathione-dependent enzymes.

On the simplest level, antioxidant such as vitamin E have protective effects on glutathione-dependent enzymes; however, we will see that reality is somewhat more complicated.

by: RI van Haaften, GR Haenen, CT Evelo, A Bast
Drug Metab Rev, Vol. 35, No. 2-3. (g 2003), pp. 215-253.

Click here for more about Glutathione and its benefits to our body.

Role of glutathione in cellular resistance to alkylating agents

2008-01-22T12:39:00.000-08:00

Both elevated glutathione levels and increased activity of the enzyme glutathione S-transferase have been associated with the resistance of cells to alkylating agents.

We have demonstrated that one mechanism of this resistance is the inactivation of the alkylating agents by conjugation with glutathione.

This conjugation can be catalyzed by glutathione S-transferase. For the nitrogen mustard agents we have studied, both the spontaneous and enzyme catalyzed reactions proceed through the aziridinium intermediates of the alkylating agents, and the [alpha] isoenzymes of GST are involved.

In a study of cyclophosphamide resistant medulloblastoma cell lines elevated cellular concentrations of glutathione correlated well with the resistance of the cell lines.

by: Michael O Colvin, Henry S Friedman, Michael P Gamcsik, Catherine Fenselau, John Hilton
Advances in Enzyme Regulation, Vol. 33 (1993), pp. 19-26

Involvement of uric acid and glutathione antioxidant defenses

2008-01-22T12:32:00.000-08:00

Insulin neuroprotection against oxidative stress in cortical neurons-Involvement of uric acid and glutathione antioxidant defenses.

In this study we investigated the effect of insulin on neuronal viability and antioxidant defense mechanisms upon ascorbate/Fe(2+)-induced oxidative stress, using cultured cortical neurons.

Insulin (0.1 and 10 muM) prevented the decrease in neuronal viability mediated by oxidative stress, decreasing both necrotic and apoptotic cell death.

Moreover, insulin inhibited ascorbate/Fe(2+)-mediated lipid and protein oxidation, thus decreasing neuronal oxidative stress.

Increased 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) adducts on GLUT3 glucose transporters upon exposure to ascorbate/Fe(2+) were also prevented by insulin, suggesting that this peptide can interfere with glucose metabolism.

We further analyzed the influence of insulin on antioxidant defense mechanisms in the cortical neurons. Oxidative stress-induced decreases in intracellular uric acid and GSH/GSSG levels were largely prevented upon treatment with insulin.

Inhibition of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI-3K) or mitogen-induced extracellular kinase (MEK) reversed the effect of insulin on uric acid and GSH/GSSG , suggesting the activation of insulin-mediated signaling pathways.

Moreover, insulin stimulated glutathione reductase (GRed) and inhibited glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities under oxidative stress conditions, further supporting that insulin neuroprotection was related to the modulation of the glutathione redox cycle.

Thus, insulin may be useful in preventing oxidative stress-mediated injury that occurs in several neurodegenerative disorders.

by: AI Duarte, MS Santos, CR Oliveira, AC Rego

Click here for more about Glutathione and its benefits to our body.

Types of Free Radicals

2008-01-21T15:55:00.000-08:00

Where do free radicals come from?

• Amino Acid transport
• Cellular detoxification
• Immune system enhancement
• Enzyme activation

Types of Free Radicals
The fight against free radicals is often a tricky one. There is not a mythical, ambiguous, or singular form on free radical. Science has confirmed that there are many different types of free radicals including:

• Superoxide
• Hydrogen Peroxide
• Single Oxygen and Hydroxyl Radicals

Important Note: Not all antioxidants can sufficiently match up with all types of free radicals.

The great news about Glutathione is that regardless of the type of free radical, Glutathione has the ability to properly match up and neutralize it, thus increasing cellular protection and function

Click here for more about Glutathione and its benefits to our body.

Dr. Robert Keller and Glutathione

2008-01-21T15:35:00.000-08:00

Robert Keller MD, MS, FACP, has been named as one of the world’s 2,000 Outstanding Scientists of the 21st Century, and has served on the scientific review panels for the National Institutes of Health and the VA.

The Consumers’ Research Council has named Dr. Keller one of America’s “Top Physicians in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007 in the fields of Internal Medicine, Immunology and Hematology.

Dr. Keller has served on the faculties of the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine, the University of Wisconsin and the Medical College of Wisconsin (Marquette Univ.) He has published more than 100 original articles in various scientific and medical journals and has been awarded several patents.

Dr Keller was elected to The Board of Governors of the American Academy of HIV medicine.

Read Robert H. Keller, MD, MS, FACP, AAHIVS CurriculmVitae

Dr. Robert H. Keller, one of the world’s leading scientists dedicated 10 years of research and development into MaxGXL to assist the world in its quest for a higher quality of health.Out of all the biological processes that Dr Keller could have focused his attention on, he chose to investigate a way to naturally optimize the body’s production of glutathione.

Glutathione is a fairly tricky word, but your body relies on its function every single day.

Important Roles of Glutathione

• Fight against oxidative cell damage (Free Radicals)
• Protein Synthesis
• Amino Acid transport
• Cellular detoxification
• Immune system enhancement
• Enzyme activation
• Fight Inflammation
• ATP (energy) production
Our cells are constantly under attack by Free Radicals, which can cause a reduction of our cells ability to function optimally.

Click here for more about Glutathione and its benefits to our body.

Glutathione - MaxGXL

2008-01-21T15:28:00.000-08:00

Supplements Containing Glutathione Alone Will NOT Increase The Body’s GSH Levels!It is pointless to purchase supplements that merely contain glutathione, because the digestive system breaks down ingested glutathione and it will not be absorbed into your system.

MaxGXL™ provides the proper nutrients needed to promote the body's own ability to manufacture and absorb glutathione. MaxGXL™ also aids in liver support by destroying environmental poisons helping the liver to function as the main production site and storehouse for glutathione.

THE MAX GXL is a PATENTED High Performance Formula which:
Dramatically Raises Your Energy Level
Slows Down The Aging Process
Strengthens Your Immune System
Fights Inflammation and Diseases of Aging
Improves Athletic Performance & Recovery
Detoxify Your Body

Glutathione Fact 3

2008-01-21T15:22:00.000-08:00

Increasing Age and Other Factors Reduce the Body’s Production and Utilization of GSH.

Research has shown that individuals who have low levels of glutathione are susceptible to chronic illness.

Research shows that GSH levels decline by 8% to 12% per decade, beginning at the age of 20.

Levels of glutathione are further reduced by continual stress upon the immune system such as illness, infection, and environmental toxins. As we now know, a lowered immune system can bring about illness and disease. This is a ferocious cycle.

While you need glutathione for a productive immune system , a weakened immune system hampers the production of glutathione.

Detoxifies your body
Antioxidants are well documented and known to possess vital roles in health maintenance and disease prevention. Glutathione is your cell's own majorAntioxidants. Maintaining elevated glutathione levels aids the body's natural antioxidant function.Biochemical Pharmacology 47: 2113-2123 1994

Glutathione Fact 2 - slow down the aging process

2008-01-21T15:18:00.000-08:00

Glutathione has been shown to slow down the aging process, detoxify and improve liver function, strengthen the immune system, and reduce the chances of developing cancer.

Glutathione also works to help improve mental functions, increase energy, improve concentration, permit increased exercise, and improve heart and lung function - just to name a few.

Among the uses that have been reported for glutathione are:
treatment of poisoning, particularly heavy metal poisons
treatment of idiopathic pulmonary firbosis
increasing the effectiveness and reducing the toxicity of cis-platinum, a chemo drug used to treat breast cancer
treating Parkinson's disease
lowering blood pressure in patients with diabetes
increasing male sperm counts in humans and animals
treatment of liver cancer
treatment of sickle cell anemia

Glutathione Fact 1 - produced naturally in our cells

2008-01-21T15:12:00.000-08:00

Glutathione (GSH) is a small protein produced naturally in our cells when certain required elements are present

It functions both as an antioxidant and an antitoxin and is a major defense system against illness and aging.

Our glutathione level actually indicates our state of health and can predict longevity. Although there are more than 60,000 published papers on the beneficial effects of glutathione replacement, it is still largely ignored by mainstream medicine.

In the near future the importance of glutathione will be widely recognized because it has the ability to boost the immune system and fight off the damage of free radicals on the cells.

Glutathione's three major roles in the body are summarized by the letters A-B-C.
- Anti-oxidant- Blood Booster- Cell Detoxifier

Glutathione - your body's master antioxidant

2008-01-21T15:04:00.000-08:00

Glutathione (GSH) is the most powerful, prevalent antioxidant in your body!

GSH is manufactured by your cells and all you need to do is to provide the raw materials for your body to produce glutathione optimally.

Increasing your glutathione level will naturally increase your energy, detoxify your body and strengthen your immune system.

Dr. Robert Keller
Robert Keller MD, MS, FACP, has been named as one of the world’s 2,000 Outstanding Scientists of the 21st Century, and has served on the scientific review panels for the National Institutes of Health and the Veterans Administration.

MaxGXL™ provides the proper nutrients needed to promote the body's own ability to manufacture and absorb glutathione. MaxGXL™ also aids in liver support. by destroying environmental toxins, thus helping the liver to function as the main production site and storehouse for glutathione. The graph below shows the increase in glutathione levels experienced by 4 groups of patients. Group 1 (normal health patients) were tested after 6 months of use, while Groups 2, 3 and 4 (HIV, Hepatitis C, and Chronic Viral Illness respectively) were tested after only 3 months of the MaxGXL regimen.

Click here for more about Glutathione and its benefits to our body.

HOW TO GET GLUTATHIONE INTO YOUR CELLS

2008-01-18T09:59:00.000-08:00

Glutathione is made up of three amino acids, glycine, glutamic acid and cysteine. Each cell produces its own GSH according to need within itself.

The determining factor as to how much it can make to ultimately keep levels up to the needed 70% in the active form...is determined by the availability of the amino acid cysteine. The production of cysteine becomes less and less efficient as we get older going into a steady decline by around age 55 onward.

This is just at a time when its most needed to protect our brains and neurological system from syndromes such as Alzheimer's Disease and dementia, which are now becoming more and more common.

Before we go further, let me explain "active" form (technically called the "reduced" form) and "inactive" (technically called the "oxidized" form) forms of glutathione. The active form is the one that can perform all the functions listed above act as a powerful antioxidant, work to combat diseases of aging and a potent player in detoxification. It is often shown in written works as "GSH".

The inactive form is present when GSH has done its work donating electrons and needs to regenerate itself which it can do. Its usually shown as GSSG (lacking the H..because it gave it away to stabilize some other molecule).

In a healthy situation, the percentage of GSH is about 90% with only 10% of Glutathione existing as GSSG. When these ratios change and there is more and more GSSG present, that is when the cell becomes sick, and is vulnerable to attack from toxins and microbes. If GSH falls below 70%...the cells/organ/person is in HUGE trouble!

There is one provison to this situation. If GSH is "used" to clear up a situation from our own metabolism, then it can regenerate itself just fine. HOWEVER if its used to combat "xenobiotics" or toxins from the outside of our bodies, such as chemicals, heavy metals, toxins, etc., then it cant regenerate.

This is where we run into trouble today as our food is not replenishing us the way it should and supplementing for Glutathione is tricky

Glutathione's three major roles in the body are summarized by the letters A-B-C.
- Anti-oxidant- Blood Booster- Cell Detoxifier

Learn more about Glutathione click here

GSH has five major functions

2008-01-18T09:51:00.000-08:00

Antioxidant:
Antioxidant is a substance that neutralizes destructive free radicals; some are manufactured by the metabolic processes of the body, others are derived from foods, the air we breath, exercise, stress and disease.GSH is the most powerful Antioxidant occurring naturally in the cells of the body. Through its significant reducing power, GSH also makes major contributions to the recycling of other Antioxidant that have become oxidized. Healthy cells homeostatically oppose free radicals through the use of Antioxidant, of which GSH plays a significant role. The effectiveness of other Antioxidant like vitamins C and E depends on the availability of GSH.

Help Prevent Disease:
Oxidative related diseases: accelerated aging, cell destruction, causes damage to DNA cellular patterns which leads to cancer, arteriosclerosis, coronary artery disease, Parkinson’s disease, diseases of the immune system, diabetes, cataract formation, Alzheimer’s, macular degeneration, COPD, allergy/asthma, stroke.

Detoxification:
GSH also plays a main role in detoxification..primarily in Phase II Liver detox. It "binds" to many toxins by its sulfur molecules and aids in forming a complex which the body then rids itself of.

Immune System Support:
When the immune system responds to an invader, it releases a blitz of free radicals to aid in the offensive agent's demise. This could create damage to local tissue and your body, but GSH rallies around the area to quench the free radicals that are produced in excess.

Protection from Radiation:
A recent research article published in the journal Radiology states that “radiation from a single whole-body scan is equal to that from 100 mammograms and is similar to that received by survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan – about 1 mile from the explosions – according to radiation biologist, David J. Brenner of Columbia University. The radiation from one scan is enough to produce a tumor in one out of 1200 people, and for those who have annual scans the risk increases to one tumor in every 50 people. With inadequate intracellular GSH the risk is greatly increased.

How much glutathione is enough?

2008-01-18T09:46:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, there is no Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for glutathione to indicate how much is enough.

One hundred milligrams each day is the usual recommended dosage for glutathione.

THE MAX GXL is a PATENTED High Performance Formula which:

Dramatically Raises Your Energy Level
Slows Down The Aging Process
Strengthens Your Immune System
Fights Inflammation and Diseases of Aging
Improves Athletic Performance & Recovery
Detoxifies Your Body

What conditions or problems is glutathione used for?

2008-01-18T09:28:00.000-08:00

Glutathione peroxidase may help delay the physical effects and problems of aging.

Adequate amounts of Glutathione are needed to help the immune system fight against free-radical damage, infection, and illness.

Glutathione may help prevent or lessen symptoms of conditions like asthma and rheumatoid arthritis.

Learn more about Glutathione click here

Glutathione's three major roles in the body are summarized by the letters A-B-C.
- Anti-oxidant- Blood Booster- Cell Detoxifier

What are the potential advantages of taking glutathione ?

2008-01-18T09:24:00.000-08:00

Glutathione peroxidase (GSH) is your body’s most abundant natural antioxidant, and appears to have an anti-aging effect on the body. Advantages of glutathione:

Glutathione helps eliminate toxins from the body, and keeps the eyes, central nervous system, and immune system healthy and strong.

GSH also helps turn carbohydrates into energy, and prevents the buildup of oxidized fats that may contribute to atherosclerosis.

Click here for more about Glutathione and its benefits to our body.

Glutathione peroxidase (GSH) is your body’s most abundant natural antioxidant.

2008-01-18T08:54:00.000-08:00

GSH protects your vision, boosts your immune system, helps turn carbohydrates into energy, and prevents the buildup of oxidized fats that may contribute to atherosclerosis.

Glutathione is a compound classified as a tripeptide made of three amino acids: cysteine, glutamic acid, and glycine. Glutathione is also found in every part of the body, especially the lungs, intestinal tract, and liver.

The body produces and stores the largest amounts of GSH in the liver, where it is used to detoxify harmful compounds so that they can be removed from the body through the bile.

The liver also supplies GSH directly to red and white blood cells in the bloodstream; it helps keep red blood and white blood cells healthy to maximize the disease-fighting power of the immune system.

Glutathione also appears to have an anti-aging affect on the body. GSH levels decline with age, and a lack of Glutathione has been shown to leave the body more vulnerable to damage by free radicals, thus speeding up oxidation (wearing down) of the body.

A Glutathione deficiency can have a devastating effect on the nervous system, causing such symptoms as lack of balance and coordination, mental disorders, and tremors.

Any illness (even a bad cold), chronic disorders such as asthma and rheumatoid arthritis, injury, or heavy exposure to pollutants can cause a GSH deficiency.

This is because your body uses more GSH when it is supporting white blood cells and ridding the body of toxins.

Glutathione is found in almost all fruits and vegetables. Acorn squash, asparagus, avocado, cantaloupe, grapefruit, okra, orange, peach, potato, spinach, strawberries, tomato, watermelon, and zucchini are all good sources of GSH. Some vegetables, such as broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kale, and parsley, not only provide GSH, but also actually stimulate the body produce more of this powerful antioxidant.

Cooking destroys a lot of the Glutathione in fresh fruits and vegetables, so you can get the most GSH from these foods by eating them raw or steamed.

Eating foods high in glutamine, such as lean meats, eggs, wheat germ, and whole grains, can also stimulate the liver to produce more GSH.

There is no Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for GSH, but supplements have no known harmful side effects. Glutathione supplements can be expensive, but there is some question about the body’s ability to absorb GSH efficiently in supplemental form. If you want to take GSH supplements, just make sure to take them with meals to maximize absorption.

Click here for more about Glutathione and its benefits to our body.

7 Natural Ways To Increase Glutathione Production

2008-01-18T08:44:00.000-08:00

L-Cysteine
Since the amount of cysteine in our body determines how much glutathione your body can make, why not just eat cysteine as a supplement? Well, you can, but research shows there would be negligible benefits and potential risks. Cysteine taken as a dietary supplement can promote hypercysteinemia and potential toxicity.
L-Methionine
Methionine is indeed a precursor of glutathione but the metabolic transformation of methionine into glutathione is a complex process which has the potential for "going astray".
Melatonin
Melatonin is produced by the pineal gland in the brain and has many roles in the body, one being its ability to raise glutathione levels in certain tissues of the body, including brain, liver, and muscle tissue. The long term safety of products that promote melatonin production has not been established and should be used in consultation with appropriate health professionals.
Glutamine
Glutamine is an amino acid found in abundance in our body. It is tremendously beneficial to the body and is easily found in a healthy diet. Also, supplemental glutamine must be kept absolutely dry or it will degrade into ammonia, a toxin to the body. Due to its abundance in a healthy diet and the risks of storing it, glutamine is not an ideal supplement.
Lipoic Acid (alpha-lipoic acid)
Lipoic acid occurs naturally in the body but can also be taken as a supplement with effectiveness. This supplement works well in conjunction with healthy levels of glutathione but studies show that if taken by a person whose glutathione levels are too low, lipoic acid actually promotes oxidation.
Silymarin (milk thistle)
This herbal extract seems to stimulate the growth and regeneration of damaged liver cells but also has been shown to significantly increase glutathione production. However, some toxic reactions are noted by some, such as gas, cramps and diarrhea.
Whey Proteins
Fresh or "bioactive" milk whey contains potent glutathione precursors. Unfortunately, by the time milk reaches your table, it has been pasteurized and has lost its bioactivity, and its glutathione enhancing benefits.

Click here for more about Glutathione and its benefits to our body.

The natural health community agrees that helping your body increase its glutathione production is extremely beneficial. Given the many choices above, it may be difficult to know where to start.

THE MAX GXL is a PATENTED High Performance.

Master Antioxidant

2008-01-18T08:31:00.000-08:00

Despite the fact that you live in an unhealthy world, surrounded by unhealthy temptations, distractions and challenges, in one day you may…

Drive past McDonalds even when every animal instict is screaming for french fries.
Tell one of your kids you're not hungry (even though you are starving) when they wave a big spoonful of cookie dough ice cream in your face and offer to share.
Make a special trip to the whole foods store on the other side of town just to pick up and pay a hefty sum for organic, montmorency cherries because you heard how high in antioxidants they were.

Because:
Because you want to feel better!
You want more energy!
You want your clothes to fit again!
And, most importantly, you want to be healthy

So, in case you haven't met, let me introduce you to the "Master".The master antioxidant that is.

It is known as Glutathione or GSH.
Why is glutathione called the master antioxidant?

To put it simply, glutathione replenishes the action of many other antioxidants. In other words, glutathione makes those montmorency cherries go even farther as an antioxidants, enhancing the well documented and undeniable benefits of antioxidants.

For the scientific types, here is a brief explanation offered by Dr. Jimmy Gutman, a noted glutathione expert. He says,

"When vitamin C and E pick up an oxyradical they must hand it off to the GSH (glutathione) system so they are free to go back and get others. GSH similarly neutralizes peroxide and lipoic acid. In fact, all of the antioxidants help to neutralize each other and glutathione is at the center of cellular antioxidation. It is GSH -not the vitamin- that ultimately neutralizes the radical."
Perhaps, to make the point clear, you need an analogy.

Think of the activity in your body as a bustling metropolis with lots of people. Like dangerous free radicals, some of those people prowl around seeking to do harm. Fortunately, most cities have some form of Law Enforcement which, in most cases, finds and captures these less than desirables, much like your immune system which uses (among many other things) antioxidants to seek, finds and capture free radicals.

In this analogy, glutathione is like the patty wagon which then whisks the criminals away and, unlike our democratic society, makes that criminal disappear forever.

As a result, every extra "healthy" act you exert yourself to make each day is enhanced when you have optimal levels of naturally occurring glutathione in your cells.

Each supplement you take, each vitamin, each mineral, each antioxidants rich fruit and vegetable is assisted by the free radical neutralizing power of glutathione.

Click here for more about Glutathione and its benefits to our body.

The 3 Distinct Benefits of Naturally Produced Glutathione

2008-01-17T13:04:00.000-08:00

Glutathione: The Master Antioxidant
Antioxidants participate directly in the destruction of reactive oxygen compounds called free radicals. These by-products of a cell’s normal function can’t be avoided, but exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun or other sources promotes their emergence.
Free radicals have been linked to muscle fatigue during exercise and aging.

For this reason, the body is equipped with a variety of antioxidants. Vitamins C and E are natural antioxidants but do not occur naturally in the body.

These and other antioxidants actually depend on natural glutathione to function properly.

This is why Glutathione is called “The Master Antioxidant”.

Glutathione : Food for the Immune system

Glutathione helps build your Immune system resistance and improve your chances of staying healthy.

Lymphocytes are cells of your Immune system. Glutathione is essential for lymphocytes to increase in number, produce antibodies, and function efficiently.

Glutathione: A Cellular Level Detoxifier
Our food and water sources are becoming increasingly contaminated with chemicals, as is the air that we breathe.

Supplemental Detoxifier such as Glutathione help to counter the effects of the toxins we inhale and ingest.

By physically binding to toxic compounds in cells, Glutathione helps make them soluble - and harmless. The body can then eliminate these disarmed toxins in the bile and urine.

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GSH is the most abundant redox molecule in cells

2008-01-17T13:02:00.000-08:00

Thus the most important determinant of cellular redox status. Thiols in proteins can undergo a wide range of reversible redox modifications (e.g., S-glutathionylation, S-nitrosylation, and disulfide formation) during times of increased exposure to reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, which can affect protein activity. These reversible thiol modifications regulated by GSH may be nanoswitches to turn on and off proteins, similar to phosphorylation, in cells. In the cytoplasm, an altered redox state can activate (e.g., MAPKs and NF-E2-related factor-2) and inhibit (e.g., phosphatases and caspases) proteins, whereas in the nucleus, redox alterations can inhibit DNA binding of transcription factors (e.g., NF-B and activator protein-1). The consequences include the promotion of expression of antioxidant genes and alterations of hepatocyte survival as well as the balance between necrotic versus apoptotic cell death. Therefore, the understanding of the redox regulation of proteins may have important clinical ramifications in understanding the pathogenesis of liver diseases.

GLUTATHIONE REDOX STATUS IN THE HUMAN CELL LINE

2008-01-17T12:56:00.000-08:00

GLUTATHIONE REDOX STATUS IN THE HUMAN CELL LINE, A549, FOLLOWING INTRACELLULAR GLUTATHIONE DEPLETION AND EXTRACELLULAR GLUTATHIONE ADDITION
Pendergrass J. A.; Srinivasan J. V.; Clark E. P.; Kumar K. S.

The redox status of Glutathione (L-gamma-glutamyl-L-cysteinylglycine, GSH) plays an im portant role in a number of different cellular reactions including cellular oxidative stress.

Using A549 human sm all cell lung carcinoma fibroblasts, we investigated the role of exogenous GSH on the intracellular GSH/Glutathione disulfide (oxidized Glutathione, GSSG) redox ratio in GSH-depleted cells by treating with L-buthionine-(S,R)-sulfoximine (BSO).

GSH levels decreased after BSO treatment. Although BSO is a well-recognized inhibitor of GSH biosynthesis and has no known effect on GSSG reductase, surprisingly, the levels of GSSG also decreased. Incubation of control or GSH-depleted cells with exogenous GSH did not alter intracellular GSH or GSSG levels to any significant extent.

Therefore, the ratio of GSH/GSSG also was not altered significantly either in the controls or the BSO-treated cells. It appears that there m ay be cellular hom eostatic mechanisms that would maintain a constant GSH/GSSG ratio, irrespective of the changes in intracellular GSH concentration.

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Chronic Alcoholism Alters Systemic and Pulmonary Glutathione Redox Status

2008-01-17T12:49:00.000-08:00

Rationale: Previous studies have linked the development and severity of acute respiratory distress syndrome with a history of alcohol abuse. In clinical studies, this association has been centered on depletion of pulmonary Glutathione and subsequent chronic oxidant stress.

Objectives: The impact on redox potential of the plasma or pulmonary pools, however, has never been reported.

Methods: Plasma and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were collected from otherwise healthy alcohol-dependent subjects and control subjects matched by age, sex, and smoking history.

Measurements and Main Results: Redox potential was calculated from measured reduced and oxidized Glutathione in plasma and lavage. Among subjects who did and did not smoke, lavage fluid Glutathione redox potential was more oxidized in alcohol abusers by approximately 40 mV, which was not altered by dilution. This oxidation of the airway lining fluid associated with chronic alcohol abuse was independent of smoking history. A shift by 20 mV in plasma Glutathione redox potential, however, was noted only in subjects who both abused alcohol and smoked.

Conclusions: Chronic alcoholism was associated with alveolar oxidation and, with smoking, systemic oxidation. However, systemic oxidation did not accurately reflect the dramatic alcohol-induced oxidant stress in the alveolar space.

Although there was compensation for the oxidant stress caused by smoking in control groups, the capacity to maintain a reduced environment in the alveolar space was overwhelmed in those who abused alcohol. The significant alcohol-induced chronic oxidant stress in the alveolar space and the subsequent ramifications may be an important modulator of the increased incidence and severity of acute respiratory distress syndrome in this vulnerable population.
Mary Y. Yeh1, Ellen L. Burnham2, Marc Moss2 and Lou Ann S. Brown1

Glutathione redox cycle protects cultured endothelial cells against lysis by extracellularly generated hydrogen peroxide

2008-01-17T12:44:00.000-08:00

We have examined the role of the Glutathione redox cycle as an Antioxidants defense mechanism in cultured bovine and human endothelial cells by disrupting the Glutathione redox cycle at several points.

Endothelial Glutathione reductase was selectively inhibited with 1,3-bis(chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea (BCNU). Cellular stores of reducedGlutathione were depleted by reaction with diethylmaleate (DEM) or 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB) or by inhibition of Glutathione synthesis with buthionine sulfoximine (BSO).

Whereas several strains of untreated bovine and human endothelial cells were resistant to lysis by enzymatically generated hydrogen peroxide, BCNU-treated cells were readily lysed in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Glucose-glucose oxidase-mediated lysis of BCNU-treated bovine endothelial cells was catalase-inhibitable and directly related to BCNU concentration and endogenous Glutathione reductase activity. Pretreatment of bovine endothelial cells with BCNU did not potentiate lysis by distilled water, calcium ionophore, lipopolysaccharide, or hypochlorous acid. Depletion of cellular reduced glutathione by reaction with DEM or CDNB or by inhibition of Glutathione synthesis by BSO also potentiated endothelial lysis by enzymatically generated hydrogen peroxide. Inhibition of endothelial Glutathione reductase by BCNU or depletion of reduced glutathione by BSO increased endothelial susceptibility to lysis by hydrogen peroxide generated by phorbol myristate acetate-activated neutrophils.

We conclude that the Glutathione redox cycle plays an important role as an endogenous Antioxidants defense mechanism in cultured endothelial cells
M Harlan, J D Levine, K S Callahan, B R Schwartz, and L A Harker

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Role of glutathione redox status in liver injury

2008-01-17T12:40:00.000-08:00

GSH is the most abundant redox molecule in cells and thus the most important determinant of cellular redox status.

Thiols in proteins can undergo a wide range of reversible redox modifications (e.g. S-glutathionylation, S-nitrosylation, disulfide formation) during times of increased exposure to reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, which can affect protein activity.

These reversible thiol modifications regulated by GSH may be nano-switches to turn on and off proteins, similar to phosphorylation, in cells. In the cytoplasm, altered redox state can activate (e.g. MAP kinases, Nrf-2) and inhibit (e.g. phosphatases, caspases) proteins, whereas in the nucleus redox alterations can inhibit DNA binding of transcription factors (NF-kappaB, AP-1).

The consequences include promotion of expression of Antioxidants genes, and alterations of hepatocyte survival as well as the balance between necrotic versus apoptotic cell death.

Therefore the understanding of the redox regulation of proteins may have important clinical ramifications in understanding pathogenesis of liver diseases.
Han D , Hanawa N , Saberi B , Kaplowitz N

Glutathione, stress responses, and redox signaling in lung inflammation

2008-01-17T12:20:00.000-08:00

Changes in the ratio of intracellular reduced and disulfide forms ofGlutathione (GSH/GSSG) can affect signaling pathways that participate in various physiological responses from cell proliferation to gene expression and apoptosis.

It is also now known that many proteins have a highly conserved cysteine (sulfhydryl) sequence in their active/regulatory sites, which are primary targets of oxidative modifications and thus important components of redox signaling.

However, the mechanism by which oxidants and GSH/protein-cysteine-thiols actually participate in redox signaling still remains to be elucidated.

Initial studies involving the role of cysteine in various proteins have revealed that cysteine-SH may mediate redox signaling via reversible or irreversible oxidative modification to Cys-sulfenate or Cys-sulfinate and Cys-sulfonate species, respectively.

Oxidative stress possibly via the modification of cysteine residues activates multiple stress kinase pathways and transcription factors nuclear factor-kappaB and activator protein-1, which differentially regulate the genes for proinflammatory cytokines as well as the protective antioxidant genes. Understanding the redox signaling mechanisms for differential gene regulation may allow for the development of novel pharmacological approaches that preferentially up-regulate key antioxidant genes, which, in turn, reduce or resolve inflammation and injury.

This forum article features the current knowledge on the role of GSH in redox signaling, particularly the regulation of transcription factors and downstream signaling in lung inflammation. Rahman I , Biswas SK , Jimenez LA , Torres M , Forman HJ

Glutathione's three major roles in the body are summarized by the letters A-B-C.- Anti-oxidant- Blood Booster- Cell Detoxifier

Substances that Boost Glutathione Levels and Protect Brain Cells

2008-01-16T15:17:00.000-08:00

Taking Glutathione itself as a supplement does not boost cellular Glutathione levels, since it breaks down in the digestive tract before it reaches the cells.

However, intravenous Glutathione therapy and Glutathione precursors or dietary supplements are effective in boosting intracellular levels ofGlutathione.

Intravenous Glutathione Injections:
Intravenous Glutathione injections have been shown to produce amazing and rapid results, in patients with Parkinson's disease. Followingeven a single dosage of intravenous Glutathione, many of the symptoms of Parkinson's disease rapidly improve, often in as little as 15 minutes.

Glutathione Precursors:
In the Alzheimer's study conducted by Welsh GP, Andrew McCaddon, adding theGlutathione precursor, N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) to a protocol thatlowered homocysteine levels by simple supplementation with B12 and folate, resulted in prompt, striking, and sustained clinical improvement in nearly all the patients.

Cucurmin (turmeric):
Studies have shown that the Indian curry spice, cucurmin, has neuroprotective effects because of its ability to induce the enzyme, hemeoxygenase-1(HO-1), which protects neurons exposed to oxidant stress. Treatment of brain cells called astrocytes, with curcumin, increases expression of HO-1 protein as well as Glutathione S-transferase.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003 Jun 24;100(13):7919-24. Epub 2003 Jun 05.
Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2003 Mar-Apr;11(2):246-9
Can Curry Protect Against Alzheimer's?; American Physiological Society (APS) Press Release; 16-Apr-2004

Glutathione's three major roles in the body are summarized by the letters A-B-C.
- Anti-oxidant- Blood Booster- Cell Detoxifier

THE MAX GXL is a PATENTED High Performance Formula which:
Dramatically Raises Your Energy Level
Slows Down The Aging Process
Strengthens Your Immune System
Fights Inflammation and Diseases of Aging
Improves Athletic Performance & Recovery
Detoxifies Your Body

Alcohol Consumption and Glutathione

2008-01-16T15:13:00.000-08:00

Alcohol abuse is known to impair memory and other brain functions and increase brain cell death.

A new study in rats has shown that alchol consumption causes fewer new brain cells to form and results in greater cell death.

But rats that were fed alcohol - a Glutathione peroxidase mimic that acts as a free radical scavenger - showed no similar reduction in brain-cell formation and no increase in cell death.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003 Jun 24;100(13):7919-24. Epub 2003 Jun 05.

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Glutathione and Mood Disorders

2008-01-16T15:10:00.000-08:00

Studies have found that the mood stabilizing drug, valproate, used to treat epilepsy and bi-polar disorder, regulates expression of the genes that make Glutathione-S-transferase (GST).

In addition, chronic treatment with lithium, another commonly prescribed mood stabilizer used in treating manic-depression, also increased levels of GST.

These findings led researchers to conclude that Glutathione S-transferase may be a novel target for mood stabilizing drugs.

Journal of Neurochemistry, Vol. 88, No. 6, 2004 1477-1484

Glutathione's three major roles in the body are summarized by the letters A-B-C.
- Anti-oxidant- Blood Booster- Cell Detoxifier

Alzheimer's Disease and Glutathione

2008-01-16T15:05:00.000-08:00

Free radicals and oxidative damage in neurons is known to be a primary cause of degenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease.'

Amyloid-Я peptide (AЯ) accumulation in senile plaques, a pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD), has been implicated in neuronal degeneration.

Amyloid plaques encroaching on the brain increase the production of free radicals, or oxidative stress. Antioxidants, such as vitamin C and E "mop up" the damaging free radicals.

Glutathione (GSH ) precursors can prevent death of brain cells induced by amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's disease, while substances that deplete GSH increase cell death.

Evidence has been piling up over the link between the amount of an amino acid called homocysteine in the blood and the chance of developing Alzheimer's.

For people not genetically predisposed to developing Alzheimer's, cholesterol and homocysteine, largely caused by an unhealthy lifestyle, are the core causal factors.

Welsh GP, Andrew McCaddon, showed that the more homocysteine that patients with Alzheimer's had, the worse their mental performance, and the worse their "cognitive impairment," the less they had of the antioxidant Glutathione.

The Journal of Cell Biology, Volume 164, Number 1, 123-131; 5 January 2004
Biol Psychiatry. 2003 Feb;53(3):254-60

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Brain Disorders and Glutathione

2008-01-16T15:01:00.000-08:00

A Genetic Cause?

Genetics researchers have found that the Glutathione S-transferase gene controls the onset of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease and determines, not if we get these diseases, but when.

The Glutathione S-transferase gene has previously been linked to the risk for Parkinson's disease among people who used pesticides.

Human Molecular Genetics, 2003, Vol. 12, No. 24 3259-3267

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Brain Injury and Glutathione

2008-01-16T14:56:00.000-08:00

The Gender Difference
Researchers at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh have found that males and females respond differently to brain injury.

In animal models, levels of Glutathione remain constant in females who have suffered a brain injury, but drop by as much as 80 percent in males with the same injury.

WhenGlutathione levels drop, brain cells die much more quickly. This suggests that boys with brain injuries may require different life-saving treatments than girls.

N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC), a precursor of Glutathione, already approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat people who have overdosed on acetaminophen, may be an effective treatment for brain injury in boys whose brains are deprived of oxygen.

Researchers Find Brain Cells Die Differently in Males and Females; Pediatric Academic Societies Press release; 21-Apr-2004

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Glutathione - Your Brain's Master Antioxidant Defense

2008-01-16T14:50:00.000-08:00

Free radicals and oxyradicals play an important role in the development and progression of many brain disorders such as brain injury, neurodegenerative disease, schizophrenia and Down syndrome.

Glutathione is the brain's master antioxidant and plays an important protective role in the brain.
According to Dr. Jimmy Gutman, "The brain is particularly susceptible to free radical attack because it generates more oxidative by-products per gram of tissue than any other organ."

Many neurological and psychiatric disease processes are characterized by abnormalities Glutathione metabolism and antioxidant defenses.

Generation of reactive oxygen species (free radicals) and oxidative damage are an important cause of neuron (brain cell) death from brain injury.

Chemicals that cause toxicity to certain brain cells are known to decrease cerebral Glutathione (GSH), making the cells more vulnerable to reactive oxygen species (ROS).

On the other hand, over-expression of the Glutathione peroxidase (GPX) enzyme potently decreases cell death from brain injury.

Journal of Neurochemistry, Vol. 88, No. 3, 2004 513-531
Journal of Neurochemistry, Vol. 87, No. 6, 2003 1527-1534

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Glutathione in cancer biology and therapy

2008-01-15T14:56:00.000-08:00

The Glutathione (GSH ) content of cancer cells is particularly relevant in regulating mutagenic mechanisms, DNA synthesis, growth, and multidrug and radiation resistance.

In malignant tumors, as compared with normal tissues, that resistance associates in most cases with higher GSH levels within these cancer cells. Thus, approaches to cancer treatment based on modulation of GSH should control possible growth-associated changes in GSH content and synthesis in these cells. Despite the potential benefits for cancer therapy of a selective GSH-depleting strategy, such a methodology has remained elusive up to now.

Metastatic spread, not primary tumor burden, is the leading cause of cancer death. For patient prognosis to improve, new systemic therapies capable of effectively inhibiting the outgrowth of seeded tumor cells are needed.

Interaction of metastatic cells with the vascular endothelium activates local release of proinflammatory cytokines, which act as signals promoting cancer cell adhesion, extravasation, and proliferation.

Recent work shows that a high percentage of metastatic cells with high GSH levels survive the combined nitrosative and oxidative stresses elicited by the vascular endothelium and possibly by macrophages and granulocytes. ?-Glutamyl transpeptidase overexpression and an inter-organ flow of GSH (where the liver plays a central role), by increasing cysteine availability for tumor GSH synthesis, function in combination as a metastatic-growth promoting mechanism.

The present review focuses on an analysis of links among GSH, adaptive responses to stress, molecular mechanisms of invasive cancer cell survival and death, and sensitization of metastatic cells to therapy. Experimental evidence shows that acceleration of GSH efflux facilitates selective GSH depletion in metastatic cells.

Estrela JM; Ortega A; Obrador EDepartment of Physiology, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain.

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Why is Glutathione Essential to Health?

Glutathione's three major roles in the body are summarized by the letters A-B-C.
- Anti-oxidant- Blood Booster- Cell Detoxifier

Glutathione and Breast Cancer

2008-01-15T14:51:00.000-08:00

Glutathione is protein that is produced naturally in the body.
It is an immune system booster, anti-oxidant and a natural detoxifier.

According to several studies supplementary Glutathione from whey proteins promotes health in your body, even during chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

Whey protein has the highest biological value rating of any protein. When the biological value is high, that means protein is absorbed, used and retained better in the body.

Studies indicate that supplementary Glutathione reduces the levels of the bodies home made Glutathione in tumors, thereby stopping the tumors ability to grow while at the same time increasing levels of Glutathione in the rest of the body.

The higher our liver Glutathione levels rise, the more effectively our body is detoxified.

Detoxifying your body effectively is seen as an effective way to be proactive about your health.

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Role of the Glutathione Metabolic Pathway in Lung Cancer Treatment and Prognosis

2008-01-15T14:44:00.000-08:00

Inherent and acquired drug resistance is a cause of chemotherapy failure, and pharmacogenomic studies have begun to define gene variations responsible for varied drug metabolism, which influences drug efficacy. Platinum-based compounds are the most commonly used chemotherapeutic agents in the treatment of advanced stage lung cancer patients, and the glutathione metabolic pathway is directly involved in the detoxification or inactivation of platinum drugs. Consequently, genotypes corresponding to higher drug inactivation enzyme activity may predict poor treatment outcome. Available evidence is consistent with this hypothesis, although a definitive role for glutathione system genes in lung cancer prognosis needs to be elucidated. We present evidence supporting a role of the glutathione system in acquired and inherited drug resistance and/or adverse effects through the impact of either drug detoxification or drug inactivation, thus adversely effecting lung cancer treatment outcome. The potential application of glutathione system polymorphic genetic markers in identifying patients who may respond favorably, selecting effective antitumor drugs, and balancing drug efficacy and toxicity are discussed.
Ping Yang, Jon O. Ebbert, Zhifu Sun, Richard M. Weinshilboum

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Genetic determinants of lung cancer short-term survival: the role of glutathione-related genes

2008-01-15T14:31:00.000-08:00

Survival of lung cancer patients has been dismal. Glutathione enzymes are directly involved in the metabolism of platinum compounds, a group of important chemotherapeutic drugs in cancer treatment. We tested the hypothesis that genes encoding Glutathione enzymes may predict lung cancer short-term survival. Methods: We studied DNA polymorphisms of 250 primary lung cancer patients at four Glutathione-related loci: GSTP1, GSTM1, GSTT1 and γ-GCS that encode Glutathione-S-transferase-π,Glutathione-S-transferase-μ, Glutathione-S-transferase-θ, and γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase, respectively. Pearson's χ2-square tests, Kaplan–Meier survival curves, log rank tests, and Cox regression models were applied in the analysis.

Results: There were 150 (60%) men and 100 (40%) women in this study. Seventeen percent of the patients had never smoked cigarettes, and 61% had stopped smoking at least 6 months prior to their lung cancer diagnosis. Among never smokers, those with null (N) or low (L) genotype experienced a better 1-year-survival rate than those with a positive (P) or high (H) genotype. Patients with P or H at two loci (PP or PH) were compared with patients with N or L at one or both loci (other). Among never smokers, 1-year-survival rates were 60–78% for patients with PP or PH genotypes compared with 89–100% for other types. The survival advantage was greater among advanced-stage patients who were NL or NN than low-stage patients. Similar results were not observed among smokers.

Conclusions: Glutathione-related genes may determine lung cancer survival. Our results, if confirmed, would suggest new directions to enhance cancer treatment, and provide easily measurable markers for clinicians to plan patient-specific therapy.

Ping Yangab, Akira Yokomizoc, Henry D Tazelaarc, Randolph S Markse, Timothy G Lesnicka, Daniel L Millerd, Jeff A Sloana, Eric S Edellf, Rebecca L Meyera, James Jettef, Wanguo Liuc

Glutathione could well be involved in protecting against cancer

2008-01-15T14:18:00.000-08:00

The best known functions of selenium at nutritionally adequate, but not at excessive, levels are its role as a part of the enzyme Glutathione peroxidase and its interaction with heavy metals. Glutathione peroxidase destroys hydroperoxides and lipoperoxides, thereby protecting the constituents of the cells against free radical damage. Ip and Sinha (1981) have shown that selenium, through its function in Glutathione peroxidase, could well be involved in protecting against cancer induced by high intakes of fat, especially polyunsaturated fatty acids. Glutathione peroxidase activity in human blood increases with increasing selenium intakes, but reaches a plateau at intakes well below those customary in the United States (Thomson and Robinson, 1980). Thus, if the antitumorigenic effect of selenium is mediated through its function in Glutathione peroxidase, attempts to increase the enzyme activity by selenium supplementation, superimposed on an adequate diet in the United States, would not be successful. The second function of selenium is to protect against acute and chronic toxicity of certain heavy metals. Although selenium is known to interact with cadmium and mercury, the mechanism of action is not known. Selenium does not cause an increased elimination of the toxic elements, but, rather, an increased accumulation in some nontoxic form (National Academy of Sciences, 1971). It is conceivable that carcinogenic effects of these, and perhaps other heavy metals, could be counteracted by selenium, in a manner similar to its protection against their general toxicity. Diet Nutrition Cancer by National Research Council, page 168

Cancer

2008-01-15T13:52:00.000-08:00

Numerous studies suggest that an inverse association exists between selenium levels and cancer incidence (Hocman, 1988; Willett and Stampfer, 1986; Milner, 1985). Associations appear to be particularly strong with cancers that are also associated with high-fat, low-fiber diets (i.e., breast, colon, prostrate, etc.). The mechanism for selenium's reported protective effects is likely due to its function in antioxidant synthesis. Glutathione peroxidase, the primary enzyme that converts hydrogen peroxide to water (and thus prevents lipid peroxidation) is selenium-dependent. Inhibition of lipid or bile acid oxidation may account for its protective role (reviewed by Linder 1991:496-7). Selenium may also act as an immune stimulant. Selenium deficiency inhibits macrophage-mediated tumor destruction, and inhibits tumor necrosis factor-alpha production in animals (Kiremidjian-Schumacher et al., 1992). Dietary supplementation with selenium produced the opposite effects. Cancer And Natural Medicine by John Boik, page 146

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Glutathione, oxidative stress and aging

2008-01-15T13:43:00.000-08:00

The theory of aging proposes that the impairment in physiological performance associated with aging is caused by the detrimental effects of oxygen free radicals. This is interesting because it provides us with a theoretical framework to understand aging and because it suggests a rationale for intervention, i.e., antioxidant administration. Thus, the study of antioxidant systems of the cell may be very important in gerontological studies. Glutathione is one of the main nonprotein antioxidant in the cell which, together with its related enzymes, constitute the “Glutathione system.” The involvement of Glutathione in aging has been known since the early seventies. Several studies have reported that reduced Glutathione is decreased in cells from old animals, whereas oxidized Glutathione tends to be increased. Recent experiments from our laboratory have underscored the importance of cellular compartmentation of Glutathione. MitochondrialGlutathione plays a key role in the protection against free radical damage associated with aging. Oxidative damage to mitochondrial DNA is directly related to an oxidation of mitochondrialGlutathione. In fact, aging is associated with oxidative damage to proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids. These molecular lesions may be responsible for the low physiological performance of aged cells. Thus, antioxidant supplementation may be a rational way to partially protect against age-associated impairment in performance. Apoptosis, a programmed cell death, is an area of research which has seen an explosive growth. Glutathione is involved in apoptosis: apoptotic cells have lower levels of reduced Glutathione, and administration of Glutathione precursors prevent, or at least delay, apoptosis. Age-associated diseases constitute a major concern for researchers involved in aging. Free radicals are involved in many such diseases; for instance, cancer, diabetes or atherosclerosis. The key role of Glutathione and other antioxidant in the pathophysiology of aging and age-associated diseases is discussed in this review.

Juan Sastre1, Federico V. Pallardó1 and Jose Viña Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Valencia, Spain Dept. Fisiologia, Facultad de Medicina, Avenida Blasco Ibanez 17, 46010 Valencia, Spain

The role of glutathione in aging and cancer.

2008-01-15T13:30:00.000-08:00

The incidence and mortality rates from most cancers increase exponentially with age. It is likely that this aging phenomenon is partially due to specific changes that occur in the host resulting in an increased susceptibility to neoplasia. Our hypothesis is that one such host factor is a deficiency in GSH, based on the importance of this compound in the detoxification of a wide variety of exogenous and endogenous carcinogens and free radicals, as well as in the maintenance of immune function. American Health Foundation, Valhalla, New York 10595.
PMID: 1426093 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Antioxidants are well documented and known to possess vital roles in health maintenance and disease prevention. Glutathione is your cell's own major antioxidant. Maintaining elevated glutathione levels aids the body's natural antioxidant function.

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Increasing Tissue Glutathione Levels

2008-01-14T16:25:00.000-08:00

It is clear that those with the highest Glutathione levels are likely to live the longest in the best of health. A number of ways have been demonstrated to increase Glutathione (GSH) and the Glutathione enzymes, Glutathione peroxidase (G-Px) and Glutathione reductase (GR).

Several small studies have shown that moderate, prolonged physical exercise increases Glutathione and its related enzyme levels in the blood and skeletal muscles.

Many vitamins and nutritional supplements are also Glutathione boosters. Lipoic acid, pine bark extract (pycnogenol), melatonin, bilberry, grape extract, and turmeric have all been shown to elevate Glutathione. Oral glutamine may also raise tissue Glutathione levels, although there are conflicting reports.

I used to think that oral Glutathione was destroyed in the stomach, and was not effective in raising Glutathione concentrations. However, Dr. Steve Edelson, of the Edelson Center for Environmental and Preventive Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, kindly sent me a number of articles that convinced me otherwise. These articles demonstrated that about 80 percent of oral Glutathione is absorbed intact, and that the blood levels remain elevated for about three hours (Fig. 6)

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Why is Glutathione Essential to Health?

Glutathione's three major roles in the body are summarized by the letters A-B-C.

- Anti-oxidant- Blood Booster- Cell Detoxifier

Glutathione and Detoxification

2008-01-14T16:19:00.000-08:00

One of glutathione’s primary roles in the body is to detoxify a number of drugs and toxins. Acetaminophen has been studied intensively in regard to its Glutathione-depleting properties, and with regard to glutathione’s ability to prevent APAP-induced liver and kidney damage.

Since GSH levels decrease with aging in all tissues, including the liver and kidney, older organisms are thus at even greater risk to APAP-induced liver and renal damage than younger organisms.

Lang’s group studied the effect of APAP on the livers of mice of different ages, and the extent of GSH depletion and recovery. In control animals, GSH concentrations decreased about 30 percent over the lifespan of the aging mouse, compared to younger animals.

Four hours after APAP administration, GSHlevels of the young, growing (3- to 6-month-old), mature (12-month-old), and old (31-month-old) mice decreased about 70 percent. The growing and mature mice recovered to near control values by 24 hours (94 and 66 percent, respectively). In contrast, old mice recovered only 41 percent in 24 hours (Fig. 5).

These results clearly demonstrate that the aging mouse liver is not only deficient in GSH, but has a reduced recovery capacity.This illustrates the danger of chronic administration of Glutathione-depleting drugs.

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Glutathione in Health and Disease

2008-01-14T16:06:00.000-08:00

Glutathione levels are related to increased survival and longer life in all organisms tested so far, lower levels are related to poorer health and a number of chronic degenerative diseases, including heart disease, arthritis, hypertension, diabetes, cancer, genitourinary, gastrointestinal, and musculoskeletal diseases, age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), preeclampsia, cataracts, chronic renal failure, leukemia, respiratory diseases like COPD and adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), hearing loss, and AIDS.

Lang concluded that decreased GSH is a risk factor for chronic diseases and may be used to monitor the severity and progress of the diseases. Conversely, Dr. Mara Julius of the Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan, in a study of 33 subjects over the age of 60, found that higher Glutathione levels were associated with fewer illnesses and higher levels of self-rated health, lower cholesterol, lower body mass index and lower blood pressures. The author noted that this was the first study that showed an association of higher Glutathione levels with higher levels of physical health in a community-based sample.

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Glutathione Levels Predictably Declined With Age

2008-01-14T15:52:00.000-08:00

Scientists at the University of Pavia found that Glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) levels also follow this age-related pattern up to about age 75 (Fig. 3), after which they noted a slight increase with age in a cross-sectional study (Fig. 4). They interpreted this as a self-selection process, which enabled those with the highest Glutathione peroxidase levels to survive the longest.

In another study of enzyme activity in the very old, Dr. Helle Anderson and colleagues at Odense University in Denmark compared the levels of Glutathione reductase (GR) in 41 centenarians between 100-105 years old, to that in 52 community controls between the ages of 60-79. They found that the mean Glutathione reductase (GR) activity was significantly higher in centenarians than in the group of younger elderly subjects, and that centenarians with the best functional capacity tended to have the highest GR activity.

They concluded that high GR activity appears likely to be associated with increased survival.8 In a later study, Lang’s group evaluatedGlutathione levels in 87 women in excellent physical and mental health, ranging in age from 60 to 103. The scientists found that all subjects had very high blood Glutathione levels. They followed these women for five years, and concluded that “high blood Glutathione concentrations … are characteristic of long-lived women.”

Age-Related Changes in Glutathione

2008-01-14T15:45:00.001-08:00

Drs. J.P. Richie and Calvin Lang, of the Department of Biochemistry, University of Louisville, were the first to propose that a Glutathione deficiency might be a biochemical cause of the aging process. They demonstrated that Glutathione levels decline with age in a number of organisms, including mosquitoes, mice, and man. They proposed that restoring Glutathione tissue concentrations to those of younger organisms might result in an extension of the lifespan.These scientists first tested their hypothesis using adult mosquitoes. They fed magnesium thiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid (MgTCA) (which is known to increase Glutathione) to the mosquitoes, and measured the insects’ Glutathione levels and lifespans. The MgTCA supplementation increased GSH levels by 50-100 percent, and increased www. lifespans by 30-38 percent over control values (Fig. 2), confirming the GSH deficiency hypothesis and demonstrating a specific biochemical mechanism of aging that can be nutritionally modified.

In a related study, Dr. G. Buonous of the Montreal General Hospital Research Institute, Quebec, studied the effects of a whey-rich diet on tissue Glutathione concentrations and survival of 21-month-old mice (equivalent to a human age of about 55-60). The study was performed over six months, until the mice were the human equivalent of about 80 years old. As in the MgTCA-fed mosquitoes, Glutathione tissue concentrations and longevity of the whey-fed mice increased significantly above control levels. Dr. Lang and his colleagues, as well as a number of other scientists, found that blood Glutathione levels predictably declined with age in healthy men and women ranging in age from 20 to 94, just as they do in mosquitoes, mice and rats.

Glutathione - Life-Extending “Master Antioxidant”

2008-01-14T15:36:00.000-08:00

Glutathione (GSH) is a tripeptide molecule composed of glutamic acid, cysteine and glycine. It is one of the main nonprotein antioxidants in the cell, and has been referred to as the body’s “master antioxidant.”Glutathione is present in nearly all living cells, and without it they can’t survive. The major functions of Glutathione in the body include protecting cells against the destructive effects of free radicals; detoxifying external substances such as drugs, environmental pollutants and carcinogens; maintaining cell membrane stability; regulating protein and DNA biosynthesis and cell growth; enhancing immunologic function through its influence on lymphocytes; prostaglandin synthesis; and amino acid transport.Clearly, with such widespread functions, Glutathione has major effects on health at the molecular, cellular and organ levels.1,2 Glutathione and its related enzymes Glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and Glutathione reductase (GR), constitute what is known as the “Glutathione system” (Fig. 1).3

Mitochondrial Glutathione is critical to the healthy cell, and is probably the most important antioxidants defense system within the mitochondria. Age-related alterations in these enzymes can have a profound adverse effect on health, as this article will explain By Ward Dean, MD

Glutathione, Liver Health, Cystic Fibrosis and Lung Health

2008-01-10T20:35:00.000-08:00

Hepatitis C is characterized by decreased mitochondrialGlutathione and increased mitochondrial susceptibility to free radicals.

Furthermore, Glutathione deficiency is common in liver cirrhosis patients and hepatitis patients.

Cystic Fibrosis and Lung Health New findings suggest that cystic fibrosis mutations lead to Glutathione deficiency in the epithelial lining fluid of the lung and in immune system cells and the gastrointestinal tract.

This deficiency increases over time as the higher-than-normal oxidant burden of cystic fibrosis leads to successively larger glutathione decrements without the normal opportunity to fully recover physiologic levels.

This Glutathione deficiency may be the trigger for initial depletion of other antioxidants and may also initiate the excessive inflammation found in cystic fibrosis. According to the researchers, “In a way, cystic fibrosis may be thought of as the first identified disease with Glutathione system dysfunction.” Researchers have notedGlutathionedepletion in lung epithelial lining fluid in other respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and adult respiratory distress syndrome. The study authors concluded, “Therapies to augment Glutathione may also be contemplated in these diseases.” By Priya F. Shah

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Glutathione and HIV

2008-01-10T20:28:00.000-08:00

Studies have shown that reduced levels of Glutathione and its precursor cysteine play a role in HIV’s progression to AIDS.

In one study, researchers analyzed blood samples from healthy volunteers and HIV positive patients undergoing different antiretroviral regimens.

The study authors then determined the viral load in the HIV patients and levels of cysteine and Glutathione. The results indicated that a decrease in Glutathione and cysteine levels was associated with disease progress.

In fact, the greater the viral load, the lower the level of Glutathione and cysteine. Glutathione also can protect against the free radical damage that occurs as the result of standard treatments used in AIDS patients. By Kimberly Pryor

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Glutathione and Helicobacter pylori

2008-01-10T20:24:00.000-08:00

Helicobacter pylori is the primary cause of gastritis and peptic ulcer disease and can lead to the onset of gastric cancer.

Previous studies have shown that H. pylori infection causes increased production of reactive oxygen species within the gastric mucosa, possibly leading to the H. pylori associated diseases. One group of researchers, after reviewing the medical literature, proposed that the severity of inflammation and damage associated with H. pylori infection is dependent on stomach cells’ ability to counteract the increased reactive oxygen species load.

They hypothesized that Glutathione availability is important in mounting an adequate defense against the reactive oxygen species generated by the H. pylori infection.

The researchers suggested that increasing Glutathione availability could provide a novel method for preventing or reducing the damage caused by Helicobacter pylori. By Kimberly Pryor

Why is Glutathione Essential to Health?Glutathione's three major roles in the body are summarized by the letters A-B-C.- Anti-oxidant- Blood Booster- Cell Detoxifier