Tong J, et al. - Autopsied brain of chronic heroin (n = 11) and cocaine users (n = 9), who were positive for the drugs in the brain, and of matched controls (n = 16) were compared regarding glutathione levels, determined by an HPLC-coulometric procedure. Despite many generic limitations of an autopsied human brain study and the preliminary nature of the findings, the data suggest that any oxidative stress caused by heroin or cocaine in chronic users of the drugs might not be sufficient to cause substantial loss of stores of glutathione in the human brain, at least during early withdrawal. Although replication is required, findings seem to have some value for future clinical trials employing glutathione supplement therapy as an anti-oxidative strategy in chronic users of the two abused drugs.