Serum Glutathione in Patients with Schizophrenia in Dynamics of Antipsychotic Therapy

Serum concentrations of oxidized and reduced glutathione were measured in 73 patients with schizophrenia at admission and in dynamics of therapy with traditional and atypical antipsychotic drugs. The level of reduced glutathione in patients with schizophrenia with manifest clinical symptoms was lower than in normal subjects. Atypical neuroleptics produced virtually no effects on the glutathione system, while therapy with typical antipsychotics led to further decrease in the levels of reduced glutathione, thus aggravating the imbalance of metabolic processes typical of schizophrenia.