Glutathione and Parkinson's disease: is this the elephant in the room?

At least 2 decades have past since the demonstration of a 40-50% deficit in total glutathione (GSH) levels in the substantia nigra in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). The similar loss of GSH in the nigra in Incidental Lewy body disease, thought to be an early form of PD, indicates that this is one of the earliest derangements to occur in the pre-symptomatic stages of PD. Oxidative damage to lipids, protein and DNA in the nigra of PD patients is consistent with the loss of the antioxidant functions contributed by GSH.