First, a review of what led me to research this topic. Back in December of 2009 I was given an antibiotic that I was allergic to and had a reaction. Not a severe reaction but a reaction none the less. It caused me to have swelling in my feet and hands making it next to impossible to do normal everyday things. I had pain in my tendons which made it difficult to get in and out of a sitting position. It also gave me odd sensations in my legs which caused me to have to sleep with them elevated or I did not sleep, etc. The doctors wanted to give me medications and told me I would probably have to be on the rest of my life. That was not an option for me so I started to do my own research into why this happened to me when I was active, healthy and strong. Here are my findings to date.
What I am going to give you is what I have found on various websites of reputable sources. This is for your information only and not meant to diagnose any illnesses or issues you may have. I will summarize at the end.
Initially, I found out that Glutathione synthetase deficiency is associated with Rheumatoid Arthritis because that is what the doctors told me I had. Then I found that many diseases and auto-immune diseases were also associated with this deficiency. This peeked my interest.
Here are some quotes from a small portion of the studies I read. It is pretty dry reading but please read on.
"In a previous study, we showed that decreased intracellular levels of the antioxidant glutathione (GSH) are associated with hyper responsiveness of SF T cells in RA (18). Interestingly, decreased GSH levels within T cells have been shown to be accompanied by diminished Ca2+ responses (29). " [1]
" Subjects with diagnoses of arthritis, diabetes, or heart disease (as assessed by physicians) had at least marginally significant lower glutathione levels than those who were disease free. " "The general hypothesis of the research is that higher glutathione levels are associated with better overall health." [2]
Here is one where they were talking about hemolytic anemia. This was a flag to me because I had spoken with one mother of a Gardasil Girl and she asked me about anemia because her daughter was diagnosed with that after the vaccinations.
"Two different clinical syndromes are associated with glutathione synthetase deficiency, one presenting with helolytic anemia and 5-oxoprolinuria, the other with isolated hemolysis." [3]
I started to look at what else is associated with Glutathione Synthetase Deficiency. This is what I found.
HIV infection
"Glutathione (GSH) deficiency is common in HIV-infected individuals and is associated with impaired T cell function and impaired survival." "NAC [N-acetylcysteine] treatment for 8 weeks safely replenishes whole blood GSH and T cell GSH in HIV-infected individuals. Thus, NAC 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 that NAC therapy could be valuable in other clinical situations in which GSH deficiency or oxidative stress plays a role in disease pathology, e.g. rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson's disease, hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, septic shock and diabetes." [4]
Hold on one second here. This study references acetaminophen. This is Tylenol ® and other pain relievers. I never knew that your body needs to detoxify after taking an over the counter pain reliever or any drugs.
In the last quote it also names many more diseases that this deficiency is associated with. Does this mean that if you boost your glutathione levels as reported in these studies you can be healthier? It seems so.
"Glutathione deficiency contributes to oxidative stress, which plays a role in aging and the pathogenesis of many diseases (including kwashiorkor, seizure, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, liver disease, cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia, HIV, AIDS, cancer, heart attack, stroke, and diabetes). New knowledge of the nutritional regulation of GSH metabolism is critical for the development of effective strategies to improve health and to treat these diseases. " [5]
But it gets better. Check this study out.Brain Damage
"Glutathione deficiency induced in newborn rats by giving buthionine sulfoximine, ... led to markedly decreased cerebral cortex glutathione levels and striking enlargement and degeneration of the mitochondria". ."..it may be concluded that a major effect of GSH deficiency is mitochondrial damage." "In Fig. 2b, a section of the cerebral cortex of a BSO [L-buthionine-sulfoximine] — treated animal, fewer mitochondria appear, and the mitochondria present are strikingly enlarged as compared with the normal mitochondria shown in the control section. [a] The internal structure of the mitochondria is apparently destroyed. That the mitochondria are increased to at least several times the size of normal cerebral cortex mitochondria is especially notable." [6]
(Captions from pictures — Mitochondrial damage in cerebral cortex of newborn rats after BSO administration. The rats were given saline (a), BSO (b),) (6)
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)/ Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Encephalopathy (M.E.)
"In addition to these findings there is also strong evidence of abnormalities of detoxification in ME/CFS. Glutathione, the body's most powerful antioxidant, is consistently found to be low (14, 15). Glutathione may become depleted due to chronic exposure to high levels of toxins. This could potentially be as a result of exposure to toxins in the air or from chemicals of gut origin in the presence of gut dysbiosis. Overactivation of the immune system also depletes glutathione so this may come as a knock on effect from immune system abnormalities. What is certain is that low glutathione leads to fatigue and muscle weakness and pain due to its role in energy metabolism. Low glutathione also results in oxidative stress, meaning that highly reactive oxygen molecules are not neutralized and are thus free to roam the body damaging cells and interfering with potentially any body system." [7]
Parkinson's Disease
"Glutathione (GSH) is an important soluble antioxidant present at high concentrations in the brain (Dringen et al. 2000). Postmortem study has shown that there was a 40% decrease in reduced form of glutathione (GSH) in SN of PD patients (Sian et al. 1994). In addition, it was proposed that GSH depletion is the first indicator of oxidative stress during PD process (Bharath et al. 2002)." [8]
Is there a cure for Cancer I think they have found it. Check out what I found on this website. I figured it was easier to read than all the other studies that I found.
Therapeutic
"A large cancer trial sponsored by Project Euroscan described the many positive effects of GSH as a cancer prevention agent — reviewing potential uses against lung, breast, bowel, and skin cancers.
They outlined the actual mechanisms by which GSH exerts these effects.
One of glutathione's effects upon our immune system is to control and balance the growth of T-cell lymphocytes (white blood cell), thereby strengthening the immune system.
Glaxo Welcome Research and Development scientists showed that high GSH levels act against tumors by elevating TNF. In the laboratory they halted tumor growth in more than one third of mice injected with cancer cells.
University of Utah researchers had similar success in suppressing tumor growth by raising GSH to stimulate IL2 — a promoter of white blood cell activity.
Commenting on the anti-tumor function of GSH, Dr. Alan Pressman, in 'The GSH Phenomenon,' explains, "If your antioxidant levels are high, your immune system will function optimally — and destroy the renegade cells quickly."
However, if your GSH levels are low, because free radical oxidants are being formed faster than anti -oxidant systems can fight — cancerous cells may not be detected.
This unchecked cell forms into a mass (tumor) that develops its own blood supply. [9]
There you have it. Glutathione is associated with cancer prevention.
There is a lot more that I found. To summarize what I have here is that many diseases have a link with glutathione deficiency. Also, many diseases have the similar symptoms but in my opinion to varying degrees.