The effect of 2 months of high-intensity interval training on serum levels of glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in male schizophrenic patients

Introduction: Oxide stress is important in the pathology of schizophrenia especially in the brain and it is higher than normal in these patients. In this study, we investigated the effect of intense intermittent exercise on serum glutathione and malondialdehyde in male schizophrenic patients. Materials and Methods: 28 male schizophrenic patients with a mean age of 39 years who were under the care of Yas Medical Center in Zahedan city were randomly assigned to two groups of exercise (n = 14) and control (n = 14). Subjects performed intense intermittent exercise with an intensity of 70 to 85% of maximum heart rate for 8 weeks, three sessions per week. Two rounds of blood sampling were performed 24 hours before and after exercise, and serum glutathione and malondialdehyde were measured by ELISA and spectrophotometry, respectively. Results: Serum glutathione increased significantly, after 8 weeks of training, compared to pre-test values (p <0.001). Moreover, the amount of serum glutathione increased significantly in the exercise group compared to the control group (p <0.05). On the other hand, the amount of serum malondialdehyde had a significant decrease in the exercise group after training (p <0.05); and a significant difference in the amount of malondialdehyde was observed between the two groups after 8 weeks (p <0.01). Conclusion: Regular, continuous, intense intermittent exercise may reduce cellular and molecular damage and increase serum glutathione levels in schizophrenics, and ultimately improves symptoms by inhibiting the production of malondialdehyde as an indicator of free radical production.