Trial reportThe American journal on addictions
A double-blind placebo-controlled trial of N-acetylcysteine in the treatment of cocaine dependence.
Trial report in The American journal on addictions. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 79 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Imaging Framework for Testing GABAergic/Glutamatergic Drugs in Bipolar Alcoholics
A Pilot Study of N-acetylcysteine for Alcohol Use Disorder
Who cites it
79 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 159 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy and safety of pharmacological interventions for the treatment of cocaine use disorder: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2026Pooled it
- Effect of N-acetylcysteine on craving in substance use disorders (SUD): a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Pooled it
- Pharmacotherapy for Cocaine Use Disorder-a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Journal of general internal medicine · 2019Pooled it
- N-Acetylcysteine for the Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders: A Review of Current Evidence.BioMed research international · 2018Pooled it
- A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of N-acetylcysteine as an adjuvant treatment for alcohol use disorder.Revista brasileira de psiquiatria (Sao Paulo, Brazil : 1999) · 2025Trial
- Evaluating N-acetylcysteine for early and end-of-treatment abstinence in adult cigarette smokers.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2021Trial
- N-acetylcysteine reduces cocaine-seeking behavior and anterior cingulate glutamate/glutamine levels among cocaine-dependent individuals.Addiction biology · 2021Trial
- Alcohol use during a trial of N-acetylcysteine for adolescent marijuana cessation.Addictive behaviors · 2016Trial
- An open-label pilot trial of N-acetylcysteine and varenicline in adult cigarette smokers.The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse · 2015Trial
- Achieving cannabis cessation -- evaluating N-acetylcysteine treatment (ACCENT): design and implementation of a multi-site, randomized controlled study in the National Institute on Drug Abuse Clinical Trials Network.Contemporary clinical trials · 2014Trial
- The neuroimmune-glutamate hypothesis of addiction.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2026Review
- An evaluation of N-acetylcysteine in a sequential oxycodone and cocaine rat self-administration model.Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Neuroimaging as the 'missing link' for preclinical to clinical translation: an example using N-acetylcysteine among individuals with cocaine- and opioid-use disorders receiving methadone treatment.Psychopharmacology · 2026Article
- From Stress to Substance Use Disorders: The Expanding Role of Microglia-Astrocyte Crosstalk in Neuroimmune and Glutamate Alterations in the Nucleus Accumbens.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Protective Effects of N-Acetylcysteine in Alleviating Cocaine-Mediated Microglial Activation and Neuroinflammation.Biology · 2025Article
- Astrocytic G Protein-Coupled Receptors in Drug Addiction.Engineering (Beijing, China) · 2025Article
- Exploring the potential link between ΔFosB andActa neuropsychiatrica · 2024Review
- N-acetylcysteine Clinical Applications.Cureus · 2024Review
- Neuroimmune modulators as novel pharmacotherapies for substance use disorders.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2024Article
- Article
19 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThere remains no FDA approved medication for the treatment of cocaine dependence. Preclinical studies and early pilot clinical investigations have suggested that N-acetylcysteine (NAC) may be useful in the treatment of the disorder.
objectiveThe present report assessed the efficacy of NAC in the treatment of cocaine dependence.
methodsCocaine-dependent volunteers (n = 111) were randomized to receive daily doses of 1,200 mg of NAC, 2,400 mg of NAC, or placebo. Participants were followed for 8 weeks (up to three visits weekly). At each of these visits, urine samples were collected, along with self-reports of cocaine use. Urine samples were assessed for quantitative levels of benzoylecognine (ie, cocaine metabolite).
resultsOverall, the primary results for the clinical trial were negative. However, when considering only subjects who entered the trial having already achieved abstinence, results favored the 2,400 mg NAC group relative to placebo, with the 2,400 mg group having longer times to relapse and lower craving ratings.
conclusionWhile the present trial failed to demonstrate that NAC reduces cocaine use in cocaine-dependent individuals actively using, there was some evidence it prevented return to cocaine use in individuals who had already achieved abstinence from cocaine. SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE: N-acetylcysteine may be useful as a relapse prevention agent in abstinent cocaine-dependent individuals.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.