The body’s “master antioxidant” glutathione is a powerful weapon in the fight for longevity, but it diminishes with age; AgelessRx has a range of elegant solutions.

Glutathione is your body’s “master antioxidant”, binding to dangerous compounds that can damage your DNA, mitochondria and cell membranes, and affect energy production. Produced by the body and comprised mostly of three amino acids (glutamine, glycine and cysteine), this adaptive molecule can neutralise myriad oxidants, reducing the effects of oxidative stress which contributes to inflammation and aging and can be a precursor to numerous diseases, including diabetes, arthritis and cancer.

Longevity.Technology: By helping to reduce oxidative stress, glutathione may reduce disease and slow aging. However, as well as declining with age, glutathione levels can be decreased by toxins, stress and poor nutrition. Supplementation would seem to be the order of the day, but oral glutathione products have very low bioavailability; enter AgelessRx and its glutathione range. Keen to find out more, we spoke to Dr Sajad Zalzala, Co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of AgelessRx.

Gaining prominence as a substance for both health and wellness improvement, AgelessRx sell glutathione as injections, patches and nasal spray via its online anti-aging platform – “longevity prescriptions delivered right to your door”.

Why glutathione?

“People seek glutathione for a long list of reasons, ranging from improving skin, reducing inflammation, or reducing fatigue, to name a few,” Dr Zalzala explains. “To answer that demand, there are many clinics that offer glutathione as intravenous infusions, either as a standalone or a drip. When we were evaluating glutathione delivery methods, bioavailability was a key consideration; each of the delivery methods for the products we offer (injections, patches and nasal spray) stood out as the most convenient and effective when compared to over-the-counter (OTC) oral forms.”

Traditionally, oral forms of glutathione have very low to no bioavailability, as it is quickly degraded by the intestine and liver. People turn to IV infusions as an alternative, but that is time-consuming.

“Part of the reason we elected to offer glutathione at AgelessRx is to provide people with more convenient access to this substance,” says Zalzala. “IVs are not the only option.

“At AgelessRx, we offer subcutaneous injections, iontophoresis patches and nasal spray. Each varies in strength, depending on the desired amount and chosen delivery method. Injections are the closest thing to an IV, and can conveniently be administered from home. For those that are not comfortable with injections, the iontophoresis patches are the next best option. For those who want to specifically target the Central Nervous System and the brain, the nasal spray is the best option.”

Glutathione patches

Patches are gaining traction as an easy and efficient way to improve healthspan, and AgelessRx’s iontophoresis patches are proving popular.

“Patches are unique in that they are considered a medical device and only available by prescription,” says Dr Zalzala. “Unlike OTC patches that rely on passive absorption which severely limits the amount that can be absorbed, the Iontophoresis Patch facilitates active absorption by providing a low-level current to drive glutathione into circulation into the skin.”

Additionally, OTC patches tend to have much lower concentrations of glutathione. AgelessRx patches contain 200mg prescription-strength solution per patch, for example, whereas some of the OTC patches contain as little as 20mg per patch [1]. The active absorption allows much higher levels to be absorbed through the skin that can be achieved with OTC passive forms.

Glutathione goes more than skin-deep

Glutathione injections might seem somewhat daunting to a novice, but Dr Zalzala is quick to mitigate any apprehension.

“In my experience – and the experiences our patients report to us – the apprehension of injections tends to be more of a psychological barrier than a physical one,” he says. “We find that most patients become comfortable with the process after one or two uses. The subcutaneous needles are very small, the size of an insulin needle. Most patients report no discomfort aside from a slight burning when the solution is injected. It’s over within a couple of seconds. For those not comfortable with the idea of injections, patches would be the next best option.”

Glutathione for cognition

AgelessRx’s nasal spray boasts “improved mental clarity and cognitive performance” and this is reinforced by customer experience.

“Approximately 85% of our current Glutathione Nasal Spray patients report using our product to improve brain function,” explains Zalzala. “We hear stories all the time from patients who find success with using the nasal spray for better mental clarity and cognitive performance. For example, we recently heard from a patient that is a professional writer. She loves using the spray when she’s approaching a deadline because she feels it really helps her to dial in and focus on the task at-hand. Our New Patient Check-Ins are littered with many other success stories such as this one.”

Tackling the hallmarks of aging

AgelessRx products are prescription only, not supplements. The company selected its prescriptions so that all prescription products it currently offers improve the various hallmarks of aging, based on best available science. Using them together is thought to be more beneficial than any one product alone. For example, when used together, glutathione and metformin prescriptions address five out of the nine hallmarks of aging. Glutathione addresses mitochondrial dysfunction and cellular senescence; metformin addresses deregulated nutrient sensing, genomic instability, epigenetic alteration and cellular senescence.

“In terms of noticeable benefits, patients commonly report an overall better wellbeing,” says Zalzala. “For products like NAD+ and glutathione, for example, patients routinely report better energy, focus and mental clarity. Specific to glutathione, patches and injections can be a little redundant if used at the same time, so some patients do alternate use between the two, staggering use week-to-week, for example, using injections one week and a patch the next. It really comes down to what is most convenient for each person. The nasal spray can be used with either product (injections or patches) since it focuses more on boosting levels in the brain/Central Nervous System.

[1] https://www.patchworksuk.com/product/patchmd-glutathione-plus-topical-patch-30-daily-patches/

Images courtesy of AgelessRX

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