Good evidence exists to support the use of N-acetylcysteine as an adjunct treatment to reduce the total and negative symptoms of schizophrenia .
N-acetylcysteine also appears to be effective in reducing craving in substance use disorders , especially for the treatment of cocaine and cannabis use among young people , in addition to preventing relapse in already abstinent individuals .
Oral N-acetylcysteine is safe and well tolerated without any considerable adverse effects .
N-acetylcysteine , a sulphur-containing amino acid for the treatment of paracetamol overdose and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease , is a widely available off-the-shelf oral antioxidant supplement in many countries .
With the potential to modulate several neurological pathways , including glutamate dysregulation , oxidative stress , and inflammation that can be beneficial to the brain functions , N-acetylcysteine is being explored as an adjunctive therapy for many psychiatric conditions .
This narrative review synthesis es and presents the current evidence from systematic review s , meta-analyses , and latest clinical trials on N-acetylcysteine for addiction and substance abuse , schizophrenia , obsessive-compulsive and related disorders , and mood disorders .
[N-acetyl-L-cysteine reduces the ozone-induced lung inflammation response in mice].
In this study , we investigated the protective effect of the antioxidant N-acetyl-L-cysteine ( NAC ) on the lung inflammation caused by ozone ( O3 ) exposure in mice . Thirty-two C57BL/6 mice were r and omly divided into control group , O3 group , O3+NAC group and NAC group . Mice were exposed to O3 ( 1.0 ppm ) or fresh air for 3 h on the day 1 , day 3 and day 5 , respectively . NAC ( 100 mg/kg ) was intraperitoneally applied to the mice 1 h before each exposure . At 24 h after the 3-time exposure , the alveolar wall structure was severely damaged and the infiltrated inflammatory cells were apparent perivascularly and peribronchiolarly . Significant increases in the total white blood cell count , macrophage , lymphocyte and neutrophil counts , as well as total protein concentration were observed in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid ( BALF ) ( P < 0.05 ) . The IL-6 , IL-8 ( P < 0.01 ) and MDA levels ( P < 0.05 ) in the lung homogenates were elevated coherently . Administration of NAC could attenuate the alveolar wall structure damage induced by O3 exposure and reduce the amount of infiltrated inflammatory cells , total and differential leukocyte counts ( P < 0.05 ) , as well as the IL-6 , IL-8 ( P < 0.01 ) and MDA release ( P < 0.05 ) . Western blotting results showed that the O3 exposure up-regulated the p38 MAPK and NF-κB p65 protein expression in the lung tissue of mice ( P < 0.05 ) , which could be alleviated by NAC ( P < 0.05 ) . These results indicated that NAC could protect against O3-induced pulmonary inflammation in mice . The beneficial effect of NAC might be related with the p38 MAPK and NF-κB p65 signal pathway
Good evidence exists to support the use of N-acetylcysteine as an adjunct treatment to reduce the total and negative symptoms of schizophrenia .
N-acetylcysteine also appears to be effective in reducing craving in substance use disorders , especially for the treatment of cocaine and cannabis use among young people , in addition to preventing relapse in already abstinent individuals .
Oral N-acetylcysteine is safe and well tolerated without any considerable adverse effects .
N-acetylcysteine , a sulphur-containing amino acid for the treatment of paracetamol overdose and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease , is a widely available off-the-shelf oral antioxidant supplement in many countries .
With the potential to modulate several neurological pathways , including glutamate dysregulation , oxidative stress , and inflammation that can be beneficial to the brain functions , N-acetylcysteine is being explored as an adjunctive therapy for many psychiatric conditions .
This narrative review synthesis es and presents the current evidence from systematic review s , meta-analyses , and latest clinical trials on N-acetylcysteine for addiction and substance abuse , schizophrenia , obsessive-compulsive and related disorders , and mood disorders .