Submitted by support on Wed, 04/18/2012 - 20:27
Glutathione - REDOX - a tripeptide - why is it important?
A small amino acid supplement, available to the public without a prescription, is becoming useful in the treatment of various numbers of complex illnesses and addictions. University of Minnesota (UM) scientists recently have reported that N-acetyl cysteine helps to control urges in compulsive gamblers.
Glutathione is a derivative of this molecule and serves as a powerful antioxidant known to shield cells and tissues from damage due to free radicals. In the central nervous system, particularly the brain, glutathione is believed to play a significant role in addictions involving gambling, food, or drugs.
In a UM trial conducted over a span of eight weeks, twenty-seven (27) volunteers were administered daily doses of N-acetyl cysteine. Toward the end of the trail, sixty percent of those volunteers displayed a decrease in the frequency and intensity of their gambling urges and lesser disruptions in their daily lives relative to those urges.
The 16 individuals who displayed positive behavior changes were then invited to partake in a subsequent six-week trial, where they were administered either the supplement or a placebo. None of the individuals knew which one they were getting. Three of the volunteers declined citing that they didn't want to run the risk of relapsing after having discontinued the supplement.
Of the volunteers who partook and received the N-acetyl cysteine supplement, eight-three (83) percent reported lesser numbers of gambling urges. On the flipside, the seventy-two (72) percent who received placebo pills experienced relapses and returned to their old gambling habits.
There is no question that both trials were small and brief, but the results are significant. The findings concur with earlier reports that N-acetyl cysteine might be useful in treating psychological addictions. In 2002, scientists at the Medical University of South Carolina have shown that the dietary supplement helped lower cocaine cravings in laboratory rats.
Extensive cocaine use screws up normal glutathione regulation in the brain. When the individual quits using the drug, glutathione regulation decreases.
Minimal amounts of cocaine can produce huge surges in glutathione along with feelings of intense pleasure in persons addicted to the drug. A person taking N-acetyl cysteine can restore his glutathione levels back to normal and help prevent those levels from elevating following cocaine use.
Other research suggests that the dietary supplement may also be helpful in treating persons suffering from methamphetamine addiction.
Even though the use of N-acetyl cysteine in treating drug addictions is new, this amino acid has an established track record in the treatment of other condition such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) overdose.