Glutathione therapy An interview with Dr. Perlmutter

[Guest guest]

Glutathione therapy An interview with Dr. Perlmutter

by Jill Selby

_http://www.drhoffman.com/page.cfm/197_

(http://www.drhoffman.com/page.cfm/197)

Here Glutathione therapy is explained by the doctor who pioneered the

treatment.

Glutathione therapy is inexpensive, safe and can dramatically improve

functioning for patients with Parkinson's Disease. It is a treatment that

sounds

too good to be true, but there is no questioning the impressive results.

Doctors all over the world are becoming believers in the benefits of

glutathione

thanks to the work of our special guest, Dr. Perlmutter.

Jill: Thanks for taking the time to visit with me about glutathione therapy,

Dr. Perlmutter. Your work is generating a lot of excitement in the PD

community. How does glutathione work?

Dr. Perlmutter: A better question might be, " Why is it useful? " It's now

recognized that the main pathologic event in Parkinson's Disease or any other

neurologic disorder is the destruction of neurons by free radicals, so anything

that limits free radicals is important. The primary role of glutathione is

not necessarily in preventing symptoms, but in slowing the disease by limiting

free radicals. Glutathione is a free radical scavenger, so regardless of

whether it helps patients symptomatically, day-to-day, it is still something

that should be considered.

Jill: But is it true that people who try the therapy are seeing significant

improvement in their symptoms?

Dr. Perlmutter: Eighty to ninety percent improve dramatically. It's felt

that the mechanism that allows it to work is in increasing the sensitivity to

certain receptors to dopamine. Glutathione doesn't raise dopamine levels, but

it allows the dopamine in the brain to be more effective. That's not a new

idea in medicine. Diabetic drugs work not by increasing insulin, but by

increasing the receptors to insulin. Glutathione not only increases sensitivity

to

dopamine, but also to serotonin, which may explain why many of our depressed PD

patients have a remarkable improvement.

Jill: Describe the standard glutathione treatment regimen.

Dr. Perlmutter: We've been using glutathione for three years and have

steadily increased our dosage. Now our standard dosage is 1400 milligrams mixed

with saline and given intraveneously for ten minutes three times a week. We

were

recently visited by the National Parkinson Foundation and they're very

excited -- to the extent they are going to comission a large double-blind study

evaluation short- and long-term effectiveness.

Jill: Can patients take glutathione in pill form instead of through an IV?

Dr. Perlmutter: Glutathione must be given via IV. It's digested very rapidly

when given orally. Intramuscular injections are somewhat effective, but it's

minimal. Also included in our treatment is the amino acid N-Acetyl Cysteine

(NAC). The use of milk thistle has been shown to cause retention of

glutathione, so it is part of our program.

Jill: Does gluathione replace a patient's current PD medications?

Dr. Perlmutter: Often times the patient's symptoms improve so significantly,

we are able to decrease, sometimes significantly, the amount of medication

they require. This is important because there are some side effects with those

medications. Levodopa increases the level of homocysteine in the body and

increases the risk of stroke and heart attack.

Jill: So many treatments seem only to benefit recently-diagnosed patients.

Is that true with glutathione therapy?

Dr. Perlmutter: Everybody gets some benefit. We have treated some patients

at end-stage who are wheelchair-bound and unable to speak and they have shown

some very obvious and notable improvement. Their degree of improvement will

obviously be less than someone in an earlier stage of the disease.

Jill: Are there any side effects associated with the treatment?

Dr. Perlmutter: There are no significant side effects. Also, the cost is

exceedingly low: $1.00 for every 100 milligrams and it's often covered by

insurance. Family members can even perform the treatment once provided

instruction.

I do caution other doctors not to mix glutathione with anything but normal

saline. Other practitioners might want to mix it with vitamin C, but vitamin C

renders glutathione useless by causing it to oxidize. Since glutahione

increases the ability of the liver to process chemicals, there's possibility

that

glutathione administration might render chemotherapy less effective.

Jill: How long can someone continue with glutathione therapy?

Dr. Perlmutter: Permanently.

Jill: Is glutathione gaining acceptance in the medical community?

Dr. Perlmutter: I lecture nationally probably ten to twelve times a year and

I always ask how many doctors are using it. Probably at least ten to twenty

percent of the audience raises their hand. The others are waiting for peer

review validation. Glutathione is already an FDA-approved product.

Jill: What lead you to the discovery of glutathione's effectiveness as a

treatment for Parkinson's?

Dr. Perlmutter: There were articles appearing in our journals noting that

the brain of PD patients were deficient in glutathione. We've known since 1950

they were deficient in dopamine. Once we realized they were also deficient in

glutathione, we saw the potential.

Jill: How many patients are receiving this treatment?

Dr. Perlmutter: Probably several thousand, easily.

Jill: And is the treatment uncomfortable?

Dr. Perlmutter: Not at all. I've had it myself many times.

Jill: Is glutathione therapy used to treat any other conditions besides PD?

Dr. Perlmutter: It's been very effective in treating irritable bowel

syndrome, and I don't have a clue why. We use it to treat all neurodegenerative

symptoms, but it is also part of our treatment for fibromyalgia and chronic

fatigue syndrome.

Jill: Do patients need to go to your health center in Florida to receive

this treatment?

Dr. Perlmutter: No. I have an instructional videotape available on my

website and I receive six or eight phone calls every day from doctors around

the

country. I'm happy to work with them. It's something any physician can do in

his or her office and ultimately, the patients or their families can learn to

do it at home.

[Guest guest]

Hi! I haven't been on for a ridiculously long time, but, I was deleting old

e-mails, and, when I saw the subject heading for this e-mail, I stopped dead in

my tracks.

Glutathione Therapy??!! I have CFS/FM, and, my doctor told me recently that she

wants me to start taking Glutathione!! (Enter Twilight Zone music) LOL

Seriously! For years, before it was even suspected that I had CFS/FM, I had

chronic sinusitis, and I was getting horrible sinus infections just about every

year. I had a bout with bronchitis recently, and, while it's mostly gone, it's

still hanging on there just a bit and doesn't want to completely go away. My

doctor (physician) had advised that I start taking Zinc tablets not long ago, as

I apparently had a Zinc deficiency. After getting more bloodwork done, she said

it appeared I had some other type of immune deficiency. (I don't know the

specifics-sorry!) Anyway, she said it wasn't bad enough to make me a candidate

for the " IVIG " , but that she wanted me to start taking Glutathione. Well, I

picked up my bottle of 100mg. Glutathione capsules from The Vitamin Shoppe

yesterday, and, tomorrow, I am going to begin taking it!

I'll let everyone know what happens with it. Happy Holidays to all. :)

- H.

[Guest guest]

>

> Hi! I haven't been on for a ridiculously long time, but, I was

deleting old e-mails, and, when I saw the subject heading for this

e-mail, I stopped dead in my tracks.

> Glutathione Therapy??!! I have CFS/FM, and, my doctor told me

recently that she wants me to start taking Glutathione!! (Enter T

, this isn't a bizarre suggestion. Gluthiathone is seriously

depleted in CFS/FM. I take Immunopro, which has whey protein, which is

a precursor to gluthiathone, and it helps. I'm about to start getting

gluth. IV's. I've heard the pills will not work if you swallow them as

your stomach acid will dissolve them and that you should let them

dissolve under your tongue.

barb

[Guest guest]

Hi All, I did a little googling on Glutathione, and of course, if you are

allergic to milk proteins you should not take it. I totally can’t handle the

whey protein, so I don’t think it would be a good choice for me or anyone

with this sensitivity. Just a caution. Aylwin xox

[Guest guest]

Hi Aylwin,

Good catch on that! Thanks.

But what about NAC (N-acetyl cysteine) which is the precursor to

glutatione. Can you take that?

The benefits of increasing the body's production of glutathione are so

great for so many of us, it would be a shame to close down the

possibilities. Please keep looking.

Debbie

>

> Hi All, I did a little googling on Glutathione, and of course, if

you are

> allergic to milk proteins you should not take it. I totally can't

handle the

> whey protein, so I don't think it would be a good choice for me or

anyone

> with this sensitivity. Just a caution. Aylwin xox

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Debbie, ooh you are a sharp one! I’ll check into the NAC and if it is

available in Canada; the Acetyl-L- Carnitine is not. Apparently Milk Thistle

(herb) provides NAC support too (I just reread the post of the interview

with Perlmutter about glutiathone). Thanks Debbie! TC, Aylwin xox

_____

From: CFAlliance [mailto:CFAlliance ] On

Behalf Of mcsbarrie

Sent: Thursday, January 10, 2008 4:00 AM

To: CFAlliance

Subject: Re: Glutathione therapy An interview with Dr.

Perlmutter

Hi Aylwin,

Good catch on that! Thanks.

But what about NAC (N-acetyl cysteine) which is the precursor to

glutatione. Can you take that?

[Guest guest]

Hello Aylwin

Haven't been around since last year.

Just want to say that I tried the glutathione therapy for 3 months and didn't

see any noticeable results. The drawback was the constipation side effect even

with lots of water.

Did you have a good holiday season. It's summer downunder here

Take care

" J. Catchpole " wrote:

Hi Debbie, ooh you are a sharp one! I’ll check into the NAC and if it is

available in Canada; the Acetyl-L- Carnitine is not. Apparently Milk Thistle

(herb) provides NAC support too (I just reread the post of the interview

with Perlmutter about glutiathone). Thanks Debbie! TC, Aylwin xox

[Guest guest]

Hi ! Great to hear from you. I’m sorry that the glutathione didn’t

help you…it looks like I won’t be able to try it either, because of the whey

protein sensitivity. I would probably get the opposite reaction…who knows,

maybe they would balance out! I may try the NAC/milk thistle.

Here (Canada West Coast) it’s buckets and buckets of rain alternating with

slush, leading to lots of mud mud mud…my poor dog just gets covered with it.

I think we will have another snow dump before we’re through though. So I

envy you your summer - Oh for all the $$ in the world, to fly and follow the

summer! Ah well, spring will be along sooner or later.

I had a quiet xmas that befits my state of health, just with my grown kids

and their dad. Lovely though! I’ve geared down the big production over the

years because it’s just too much for me. Anyway, they are grown and

understand that it is the getting together that is the important part.

How are you doing overall? Still searching for the helpful treatment hey? Me

too. Anyway you TC, Aylwin xox