Glutathione in Bronchial Hyperresponsiveness

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Alterations of oxidants and antioxidants now appear to be pivotal in the development of bronchial hyperresponsiveness and bronchial asthma. To evaluate the potential protective role of the antioxidant reduced glutathione (GSH) administered by ultrasonic nebulizer on metacholine-induced bronchoconstriction, we designed a double-blind, randomized study enrolling 18 subjects with mild asthma and previous bronchoconstriction after a methacholine challenge; we did not find a statistically significant decrease in bronchoconstriction after premedication with inhaled GSH. Further investigation under different experimental conditions is warranted because our information about the mode of action and pharmacokinetics of GSH is still incomplete and sometimes the data are conflicting.