A review of Parkinson's clinical trials has been published. They found five trials that qualified as eligible for inclusion. Three of those trials used IV glutathione, and two used intranasal glutathione. Link here:
They found that treatment resulted in essentially no difference for UPDRS sections 1 and II. For UPDRS part III, which is the motor section, there was an average of 2.2 points improvement over control, and it was statistically significant. (Table 4C). The trials using intranasal treatment tried two different daily total dosages, 300 milligrams and 600 milligrams. The 600 milligram dosage got better results and I used that when calculating the above average.
The more recent of the intranasal studies can be found here:
The 600 milligram dosage was taken as 200 milligrams three times daily. This 12 week trial did find an improvement of 2.2 points in the UPDRS part III. This was statistically significant versus baseline but not versus placebo, which showed a only a .3 point improvement.
I regard a two point improvement as modest. Personally I tried nebulized glutathione, which is inhaled rather than intranasal, and it did not do anything for me.
Written by
park_bear
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
I have been thinking of trying Liposomal Glutathione. It was recommended as being the most bioavailable form, but now I am curious which would be better.
Is there any published human study with acetylglutathione in pubmed or any other scientific journal? I can only find a few cell/animal studies.
Liposomal glutathione and NAC have a proven record of efficacy in multiple human studies:
“Oral supplementation with liposomal glutathione elevates body stores of glutathione and markers of immune function.“ ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/288...
“Repeated-Dose Oral N-Acetylcysteine in Parkinson's Disease: Pharmacokinetics and Effect on Brain Glutathione and Oxidative Stress.” ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...
However Oral Glutathione or NAC alone may not be as effective as IV administration to increase glutathione levels in the brain.
Intranasal glutathione might be able to increase gluathione in the brain but more studies are needed as the placebo effect was overwhelming in a recent human study ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...
Another study suggests that sublingual gluathione is superior to oral glutathione: “Effects of N-acetylcysteine, oral glutathione (GSH) and a novel sublingual form of GSH on oxidative stress markers: A comparative crossover study.“ ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...
Possibly Glutathione nanoliposomes <150nm may readily cross the blood brain barrier (BBB) and cell membranes. However most commercial glutathione liposomes are over 200nm. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...
I knew someone who tried IV glutathione and although it was somewhat effective, it was VERY expensive and inconvenient. Not many people can do IV at home. Laurie Mischley was not (when I saw her 2011-2012) a proponent of it. She felt that the majority of it would go to lungs and other parts of the body before the brain.
The videos from Dr. Perlmutter are fairly old and he has not done any type of trials with it (that I know of).
IV injections with nanoliposomes may readily penetrate the brain barrier. The technology exists with some drugs, but I've yet to see any application with glutathione alone.
Getting into the brain: liposome-based strategies for effective drug delivery across the blood–brain barrier. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...
In theory, long term IV administration or the oral administration of a biovailable form may able to penetrate the brain barrier though slow difussion but no studies exist to verify this approach.
Glutathione administration may benefit those with deficiency. There are blood/plasma exams that can show the levels of GSH and GSH to oxidized ratio (GSH/GSSH)
The Perlmutter D. study is the following
Randomized, double-blind, pilot evaluation of intravenous glutathione in Parkinson's disease.
"There were no significant differences in changes in Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) scores".
"Over the 4 weeks of study medication administration, UPDRS ADL + motor scores improved by a mean of 2.8 units more in the glutathione group (P = 0.32), and over the subsequent 8 weeks worsened by a mean of 3.5 units more in the glutathione group (P = 0.54). "
Glutathione was well tolerated and no safety concerns were identified. Preliminary efficacy data suggest the possibility of a mild symptomatic effect, but this remains to be evaluated in a larger study."
Based on your question I revisited this topic and found a systematic review that had been published since I wrote the original post. I revised the post accordingly. Intranasal appears to have modest effectiveness. I have not tried it and not able to advise how to do this.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT), Is It A Nearer Term Future Treatment For People Living With Parkinson's Disease?
Thumbs up for Nilotinib - Phase II Trials
