Abstract

DIAZ-HUNG, Mei-Li; GONZALEZ FRAGUELA, María Elena  and  BLANCO LEZCANO, Lisette. Glutathione antioxidant system in the etiopathology of nigrostriatal dysfunction. Rev Cubana Invest Bioméd [online]. 2015, vol.34, n.2, pp. 168-186. ISSN 1561-3011.

Parkinson’s disease is a chronic neurodegenerative condition affecting elderly persons. In a minority of cases the disease has a genetic origin, but in most the cause is idiopathic. Accumulation of free radicals and loss of glutathione homeostasis have been pointed at as possible causal agents. The purpose of the study was to review experimental evidence supporting the involvement of free radicals and loss of glutathione homeostasis in the outset and progress of substantia nigra pars compacta degeneration. Oxidative stress in Parkinson’s disease may be related to the intrinsic pro-oxidant properties of dopamine and high iron concentrations in the substantia nigra pars compacta, promoting dopamine oxidation and the generation of reactive oxygen species. Any event triggering these mechanisms will cause cell damage. Glutathione reduction is one of the earliest biochemical alterations detected in association with Parkinson’s disease, and it has been related to the inhibition of complex I of the mitochondrial transport chain, oxidative damage and glial activation, among other factors leading to neurodegeneration. This evidence points to the need to maintain glutathione homeostasis in the dopaminergic system, as well as its relationship to the etiology of nigrostriatal degeneration, of potential application in clinical practice.

Keywords : free radicals; oxidative stress; glutathione; basal ganglia; dopaminergic system; neurodegeneration.

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