{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T04:55:36Z","timestamp":1787028936966,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":55,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,15]],"date-time":"2023-11-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1700006400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Pritzker School of Medicine, The University of Chicago"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Medical Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a type of neurodevelopmental disorder that has been diagnosed in an increasing number of children around the world. The existing data suggest that early diagnosis and intervention can improve ASD outcomes. The causes of ASD remain complex and unclear, and there are currently no clinical biomarkers for autism spectrum disorder. There is an increasing recognition that ASD might be associated with oxidative stress through several mechanisms including abnormal metabolism (lipid peroxidation) and the toxic buildup of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Glutathione acts as an antioxidant, a free radical scavenger and a detoxifying agent. This open-label pilot study investigates the tolerability and effectiveness of oral supplementation with OpitacTM gluthathione as a treatment for patients with ASD. The various aspects of glutathione OpitacTM glutathione bioavailability were examined when administered by oral routes. The absorption of glutathione from the gastrointestinal tract has been recently investigated. The results of this case series suggest that oral glutathione supplementation may improve oxidative markers, but this does not necessarily translate to the observed clinical improvement of subjects with ASD. The study reports a good safety profile of glutathione use, with stomach upset reported in four out of six subjects. This article discusses the role of the gut microbiome and redox balance in ASD and notes that a high baseline oxidative burden may make some patients poor responders to glutathione supplementation. In conclusion, an imbalance in redox reactions is only one of the many factors contributing to ASD, and further studies are necessary to investigate other factors, such as impaired neurotransmission, immune dysregulation in the brain, and mitochondrial dysfunction.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/medsci11040073","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,15]],"date-time":"2023-11-15T10:57:46Z","timestamp":1700045866000},"page":"73","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["An Open-Label Case Series of Glutathione Use for Symptomatic Management in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6966-8883","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Karam","family":"Radwan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60637, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1588-9792","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gary","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kamilah","family":"Banks-Word","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60637, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ryan","family":"Rosenberger","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60637, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"100","DOI":"10.1097\/IYC.0b013e3181a02f7f","article-title":"Early Identification of Autism: Early Characteristics, Onset of Symptoms, and Diagnostic Stability","volume":"22","author":"Webb","year":"2009","journal-title":"Infants Young Child."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.15585\/mmwr.ss7011a1","article-title":"Prevalence and Characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder Among Children Aged 8 Years\u2014Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 11 Sites, United States, 2018","volume":"70","author":"Maenner","year":"2021","journal-title":"MMWR. 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