Role of magnetic resonance spectroscopy in cerebral glutathione quantification for youth mental health: A systematic review

AIM: Oxidative stress is strongly implicated in many psychiatric disorders, which has resulted in the development of new interventions to attempt to perturb this pathology. A great deal of attention has been paid to glutathione, which is the brain's dominant antioxidant and plays a fundamental role in removing free radicals and other reactive oxygen species. Measurement of glutathione concentration in the brain in vivo can provide information on redox status and potential for oxidative stress to develop. Glutathione might also represent a marker to assess treatment response.

METHODS: This paper systematically reviews studies that assess glutathione concentration (measured using magnetic resonance spectroscopy) in various mental health conditions.

RESULTS: There is limited evidence showing altered brain glutathione concentration in mental disorders; the best evidence suggests glutathione is decreased in depression, but is not altered in bipolar disorder. The review then outlines the various methodological options for acquiring glutathione data using spectroscopy.

CONCLUSIONS: Analysis of the minimum effect size measurable in existing studies indicates that increased number of participants is required to measure subtle but possibly important differences and move the field forward.