Abstract and Introduction
Reduced glutathione or simply glutathione (γ-glutamylcysteinylglycine; GSH) is found in the cytosol of most cells of the body. GSH in the epithelial lining fluid (ELF) of the lower respiratory tract is thought to be the first line of defense against oxidative stress. Inhalation (nebulized or aerosolized) is the only known method that increases GSH's levels in the ELF. A review of the literature was conducted to examine the clinical effectiveness of inhaled GSH as a treatment for various pulmonary diseases and respiratory-related conditions. This report also discusses clinical and theoretical indications for GSH inhalation, potential concerns with this treatment, its presumed mechanisms of action, optimal doses to be administered and other important details. Reasons for inhaled GSH's effectiveness include its role as a potent antioxidant, and possibly improved oxygenation and host defenses. Theoretical uses of this treatment include Farmer's lung, pre- and postexercise, multiple chemical sensitivity disorder and cigarette smoking. GSH inhalation should not be used as a treatment for primary lung cancer. Testing for sulfites in the urine is recommended prior to GSH inhalation. Minor side effects such as transient coughing and an unpleasant odor are common with this treatment. Major side effects such as bronchoconstriction have only occurred among asthma patients presumed to be sulfite-sensitive. The potential applications of inhaled GSH are numerous when one considers just how many pulmonary diseases and respiratory-related conditions are affected by deficient antioxidant status or an over production of oxidants, poor oxygenation and/or impaired host defenses. More studies are clearly warranted.
Reduced glutathione or simply glutathione (γ-glutamylcysteinylglycine; GSH) is found in the cytosol of most cells of the body.[1] It is a tripeptide consisting of glycine, cysteine and glutamate. GSH functions in several enzyme systems within the body that assist with the quenching of free radicals and the detoxification of fat-soluble compounds ( Table 1 ).[2,3,4,5] It also plays a significant metabolic role in supporting many different biochemical processes (e.g. amino acid transport, deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis and immune system augmentation) considered to be important mediators of health status.[6]
Glutathione in the epithelial lining fluid (ELF) of the lower respiratory tract is thought to be the first line of defense against oxidative stress.[6] The ELF concentration of GSH is 140 times that of serum concentrations with a redox ratio of > 9 : 1.[7] In fact, alternations in alveolar and lung GSH metabolism are widely recognized as a central feature among many inflammatory lung diseases.[8,9,10,11,12,13,14] In healthy lungs, the oxidant burden is balanced by local antioxidant defenses. However, in lung diseases cellular damage and injury is mediated by an increased oxidant burden and/or decreased antioxidant defenses.
In inflammatory lung diseases, supplementation with exogenous sources of GSH would be necessary to reduce the oxidant load and/or correct for antioxidant deficiencies within the lungs. A few published clinical studies have shown the oral administration of GSH to be ineffective at increasing plasma levels when given to healthy subjects,[15] or when used for the treatment of hepatic cirrhosis.[16] If the oral administration of GSH cannot raise plasma levels in healthy and diseased patients, it is doubtful that this method of delivery would have any appreciable effects at increasing GSH concentrations within the lungs.
Intravenous administration might be effective since it bypasses the gastrointestinal tract, immediately enters the blood stream, and presumably would saturate body tissues such as the lungs. Unfortunately, the results of a study did not show intravenous administration to be effective at increasing GSH levels within the ELF.[17] When 600 mg of GSH was delivered intravenously to sheep, the levels in the venous plasma, lung lymph and ELF increased only for a very brief period of time. However, when the same amount of GSH was delivered through inhalation (nebulized or aerosolized), the baseline GSH level in the ELF (45.7 ± 10 µM) increased 7-fold at 30-min (337 ± 64 µM), remained above the baseline level 1 h later (P < 0.001) and returned toward baseline levels by 2 h. Despite this short-term increase in GSH concentrations within the ELF, the inhalation method did not significantly increase the amount of GSH in the lung lymph, venous plasma and urine during the 2 h study period. The authors of this report concluded that inhalation specifically increased GSH levels at the lung epithelial surface.
Given that inhalation is the only known method that increases GSH levels in the ELF for a significant duration, a review of the literature was conducted to examine the clinical effectiveness of inhaled GSH as a treatment for various pulmonary diseases and respiratory-related conditions. Only reports involving human subjects were included in the analysis. The clinical and theoretical indications for GSH inhalation were summarized and potential concerns with this treatment reported. Other pertinent details such as its presumed mechanisms of action and optimal doses to be administered were compiled and evaluated.
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2008;5(1):27-35. © 2008 Oxford University Press
Cite this: The Treatment of Pulmonary Diseases and Respiratory-Related Conditions With Inhaled (Nebulized or Aerosolized) Glutathione - Medscape - May 29, 2008.
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