Trial reportPloS one2016
N-Acetyl Cysteine May Support Dopamine Neurons in Parkinson's Disease: Preliminary Clinical and Cell Line Data.
Trial report in PloS one, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 95 papers, 6 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.
Physiological Effects of Nutritional Support in Patients With Parkinson's Disease
Phase II: Physiological Effects of Nutritional Support in Patients With Parkinson's Disease
A Pilot Trial to Determine the Effective Dose of N-acetylcysteine for Opioid Reduction in Patients Undergoing Spine Surgery.
Who cites it
95 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 145 citations in OpenAlex.
- N-acetylcysteine for Parkinson's disease: a translational systematic review of mechanistic and early clinical data.Neurodegenerative disease management · 2026Pooled it
- A Systematic Review on Disease-Modifying Therapies in Parkinsonian Disorders.Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics · 2026Pooled it
- N-Acetylcysteine in Neurological Disorders: A Systematic Review of Clinical and Translational Evidence Across Seven Disorders.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Pooled it
- The role of N-acetylcysteine and glutathione in the management of Parkinson's disease: a systematic review of oxidative biomarkers and clinical outcomes.Amino acids · 2026Pooled it
- A systematic review of the potential effects of medications and drugs of abuse on dopamine transporter imaging using [European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging · 2023Pooled it
- N-Acetylcysteine for the Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders: A Review of Current Evidence.BioMed research international · 2018Pooled it
- Phase IIb Study of Intranasal Glutathione in Parkinson's Disease.Journal of Parkinson's disease · 2017Trial
- Therapeutics candidates and repurposing strategies to target parkinson's disease pathology: current evidence and future directions.Metabolic brain disease · 2026Review
- Trace Elements Dyshomeostasis and Toxic Metals Neurotoxicity in Neurodegenerative Diseases.Biological trace element research · 2026Review
- The irony of Parkinson's disease: Converging mechanisms of redox imbalance and ferroptosis.Redox biology · 2026Review
- Ferroptosis in cardiovascular diseases: molecular mechanisms and a novel therapeutic target.Molecular biomedicine · 2026Review
- Sources of Oxidative Stress in Parkinson's Disease: Pathways and Therapeutic Implications.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Aging at the Crossroads of Cuproptosis and Ferroptosis: From Molecular Pathways to Age-Related Pathologies and Therapeutic Perspectives.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- ALDH2 protects against dopaminergic neuronal cell ferroptosis by enhancing the enzyme activity of PRDX6 in Parkinson's disease.NPJ Parkinson's disease · 2025Article
- Review
- High-Frequency, Low-Intensity Pulsed Electric Field and N-Acetylcysteine Synergistically Protect SH-SY5Y Cells Against Hydrogen Peroxide-Induced Cell Damage In Vitro.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Article
- The Central Nervous System Modulatory Activities of N-Acetylcysteine: A Synthesis of Two Decades of Evidence.Current issues in molecular biology · 2025Review
- GPX4 Inhibition Contributes to NLRP3-Mediated Pyroptosis and Cognitive Impairment in Ketamine-Exposed Neonatal Rats.Molecular neurobiology · 2025Article
- Efficacy of N-Acetyl Cysteine in the Treatment of Burning Mouth Syndrome-A Randomized Controlled Trial.Dentistry journal · 2025Article
35 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
13 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgoundThe purpose of this study was to assess the biological and clinical effects of n-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) in Parkinson's disease (PD).
methodsThe overarching goal of this pilot study was to generate additional data about potentially protective properties of NAC in PD, using an in vitro and in vivo approach. In preparation for the clinical study we performed a cell tissue culture study with human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived midbrain dopamine (mDA) neurons that were treated with rotenone as a model for PD. The primary outcome in the cell tissue cultures was the number of cells that survived the insult with the neurotoxin rotenone. In the clinical study, patients continued their standard of care and were randomized to receive either daily NAC or were a waitlist control. Patients were evaluated before and after 3 months of receiving the NAC with DaTscan to measure dopamine transporter (DAT) binding and the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) to measure clinical symptoms.
resultsThe cell line study showed that NAC exposure resulted in significantly more mDA neurons surviving after exposure to rotenone compared to no NAC, consistent with the protective effects of NAC previously observed. The clinical study showed significantly increased DAT binding in the caudate and putamen (mean increase ranging from 4.4% to 7.8%; p<0.05 for all values) in the PD group treated with NAC, and no measurable changes in the control group. UPDRS scores were also significantly improved in the NAC group (mean improvement of 12.9%, p = 0.01).
conclusionsThe results of this preliminary study demonstrate for the first time a potential direct effect of NAC on the dopamine system in PD patients, and this observation may be associated with positive clinical effects. A large-scale clinical trial to test the therapeutic efficacy of NAC in this population and to better elucidate the mechanism of action is warranted.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT02445651.
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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.