BLOOD GLUTATHIONE LEVEL IN MENTAL DISEASE BEFORE AND AFTER TREATMENT

OBSERVATIONS on the level of glutathione in the blood in patients with mental disease have been recorded by a number of authors during the past three decades. 1 Recent work on the relation between glutathione concentration and activity of the adrenal cortex 2 made it desirable to study further the changes in the blood glutathione level that occur in patients with mental disorders, particularly those receiving shock treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS One hundred and twenty-one patients, ranging in age from 18 to 82, were studied; 47 were men. The diagnoses varied (Chart 1). The blood glutathione content was measured as described previously 1j ; the results are expressed in terms of milligrams of glutathione per 100 ml. of erythrocytes, since all the polypeptide in the blood is in the red cells. Patients with blood hematocrit values below 38% were excluded from this study because of the increase in erythrocytic glutathione content