Patent ID: 7723389

Claim:
A method of treating or preventing the toxic effects of therapeutic agents in mammals, with the proviso that the mammal is not an HIV patient, the method comprising the steps of (a) administering a composition consisting essentially of: (i) a toxicity reducing amount of N-acetylcysteine, a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of N-acetylcysteine, or a pharmaceutically acceptable derivative of N-acetylcysteine, in combination with a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient or carrier, wherein the N-acetylcysteine, pharmaceutically acceptable salt of N-acetylcysteine, or pharmaceutically acceptable derivative of N-acetylcysteine does not have antibiotic activity, wherein a unit dose of N-acetylcysteine comprises at least about 500 mg N-acetylcysteine and not more than about 2000 mg N-acetylcysteine, and (ii) a therapeutic or greater amount of a therapeutic agent, wherein the therapeutic agent is at least one antibiotic compound that produces treatment-related decreases in subject cysteine/glutathione levels, and wherein the composition supplies cysteine to a cell.