Alcohol Abuse Advice

Chronic Liver Disease – the Role of Glutathione

Glutathione is the body’s master antioxidant and protects the body from various diseases. It performs multiple functions to prevent the body from developing diseases and also helps to detoxify chemicals and drugs.

On the other hand, its reducing level increases the risks of toxicity and diseases. GSH along with the other cellular antioxidants, work synergistically to neutralize and scavenge oxygen and other free radical species. Thereby it prevents or diminishes “oxidative stress”.

Progression of liver diseases is contributed by deficiency of GSH and increase of free radical species. Therefore, glutathione has an important role to play in the cases of alcoholic liver disease, viral hepatitis, and particularly hepatitis C.

Various studies were conducted related to the role of antioxidants, particularly L-glutathione, in chronic liver diseases. There were reports on the levels of glutathione present in liver, blood and lymphocyte of patients with chronic hepatitis C. Few of these patients were infected by HIV too.

The liver is the major source of GSH levels in blood. It was found that GSH content in patients with hepatitis C was significantly reduced. This was interconnected with the severity of their liver disease and the ability of the hepatitis C virus to multiply. The GSH levels were found to be further more lowly in the cases of those who were HIV positive, compared to those with only hepatitis C. Patients addicted to drugs were the one’s to have the lowest GSH levels.

Studies suggested that increased levels of glutathione helps to improve the response to interferon treatment in the cases with hepatitis. It was confirmed that oxidative stress occurred in patients with chronic hepatitis and the studies also showed that the levels of free radicals was correlated with the activity of the hepatitis.

In another study conducted in Italy, improved glutathione levels with high intravenous doses in patients with fatty livers, secondary to alcoholic hepatitis or viral hepatitis (B or C), were marked to show improvement in liver tests, which lasted for several months, after the GSH treatment.

It was found that there was a presence of free radicals due to oxidation of lipids in patients with alcoholic liver disease. Therefore it was concluded that oxidant stress contributes to the deterioration of the liver disease.

Studies made it clear that:

* Oxygen and other toxic free radicals, resulting from oxidative stress, occurred in chronic liver disease, which contribute to liver damage in various common types of chronic hepatitis.

* Levels of antioxidants in blood and liver, mostly those of L-glutathione, are found to be lower in these patients compared to others.

* Thirdly, higher levels of L-glutathione have shown to improve liver cell damage as reflected by standard liver tests. In chronic hepatitis C, increase of glutathione not only impairs Virus C replication but also renders interferon anti-viral therapy to be more effective.

The studies suggested that the futures of therapy of chronic hepatitis C are likely to include measures to decrease oxidative stress and injury, and the use of multi drug combinations, including inhibitors of hepatitis C virus.

MaxGXL has been proven to raise glutathione levels by approximately 250-400% in humans as proven by tests in lymphocytes. MaxGXL provides the proper nutrients needed to promote the body’s own ability to manufacture and absorb glutathione.

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