COMMENTARY

Does Glutathione Affect Alzheimer Disease Progression?

Alan R. Jacobs, MD

January 03, 2019

This is the Medscape Neurology Minute. I'm Dr Alan Jacobs.

An international, multicenter group of researchers, centered in the National Brain Research Centre, Gurgaon, India, have published a series of studies exploring the antioxidant glutathione and its role in the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

Using NMR spectroscopy, they first showed the ability to detect, in humans, two different conformations of glutathione, a closed form and an extended form.^[1]

Next, they demonstrated glutathione depletion in the hippocampus, cingulate, and prefrontal cortex in humans with mild cognitive impairment and dementia from Alzheimer's disease. They have now determined the closed form of glutathione to be the conformation present in these clinical cases.

However, they note that both closed and extended forms of glutathione need to be detected simultaneously to fully understand the role that glutathione plays in Alzheimer's disease progression. A multicenter, extended effort is planned.

They conclude that the study of glutathione supplementation to enhance cognitive reserve and prevent progression in Alzheimer's disease is warranted.

This has been the Medscape Neurology Minute. I'm Dr Alan Jacobs.

References

Any views expressed above are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of WebMD or Medscape.

Cite this: Alan R. Jacobs. Does Glutathione Affect Alzheimer Disease Progression? - Medscape - Jan 03, 2019.

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