Trial reportAddictive behaviors2016
Alcohol use during a trial of N-acetylcysteine for adolescent marijuana cessation.
Trial report in Addictive behaviors, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04964843 (A Pilot Study of N-acetylcysteine for Alcohol Use Disorder), which is not on this map. Cited by 23 papers, 2 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.
A Pilot Study of N-acetylcysteine for Alcohol Use Disorder
Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 37 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pharmacotherapies for cannabis use disorder.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Pharmacotherapies for cannabis dependence.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2019Pooled it
- A Randomized Controlled Trial of N-acetylcysteine for Adolescent and Young Adult Alcohol Use Disorder.Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry · 2026Trial
- The Effect of N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) on Neurometabolites and Cognitive Function in Adults With Alcohol Use Disorder: A Preliminary Randomized Controlled Trial.Neuropsychopharmacology reports · 2025Trial
- The effects of N-acetyl cysteine on intrinsic functional connectivity and neural alcohol cue reactivity in treatment-seeking individuals with alcohol use disorder: a preliminary study.Psychopharmacology · 2025Trial
- Who responds to a multi-component treatment for cannabis use disorder? Using multivariable and machine learning models to classify treatment responders and non-responders.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2023Trial
- N-acetylcysteine does not alter neurometabolite levels in non-treatment seeking adolescents who use alcohol heavily: A preliminary randomized clinical trial.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2023Trial
- Influence of n-acetylcysteine maintenance on the pharmacodynamic effects of oral ethanol.Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior · 2020Trial
- The effect of N-acetylcysteine on alcohol use during a cannabis cessation trial.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2018Trial
- Cannabis craving and cross-substance substitution during cannabis treatment: Initial insights across seven cannabis use disorder clinical trials.Addictive behaviors · 2026Article
- A single extinction-based treatment with N-Acetylcysteine produces long-term reduction in cocaine relapse.Translational psychiatry · 2026Article
- Exploring the potential link between ΔFosB andActa neuropsychiatrica · 2024Review
- Effect of N-acetylcysteine on neural alcohol cue reactivity and craving in adolescents who drink heavily: A preliminary randomized clinical trial.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2024Article
- Unraveling the Hippocampal Molecular and Cellular Alterations behind Tramadol and Tapentadol Neurobehavioral Toxicity.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- A Review of the Characteristics of Clinical Trials and Potential Medications for Alcohol Dependence: Data Analysis from ClinicalTrials.gov.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2023Review
- The Potential of N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine (NAC) in the Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders.CNS drugs · 2022Review
- Effectiveness of N-acetylcysteine in Treating Clinical Symptoms of Substance Abuse and Dependence: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Clinical psychopharmacology and neuroscience : the official scientific journal of the Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2021Article
- Neuroimmune Mechanisms as Novel Treatment Targets for Substance Use Disorders and Associated Comorbidities.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2021Review
- The Multifaceted Therapeutic Role of N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) in Disorders Characterized by Oxidative Stress.Current neuropharmacology · 2021Review
- N-acetylcysteine for the treatment of comorbid alcohol use disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder: Design and methodology of a randomized clinical trial.Contemporary clinical trials · 2020Article
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 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
aimsCurrent adolescent alcohol treatments have modest effects and high relapse rates. Evaluation of novel pharmacotherapy treatment is warranted. N-acetylcysteine (NAC), an over-the-counter antioxidant supplement with glutamatergic properties, is a promising treatment for marijuana cessation in adolescents; however, its effects on adolescent drinking have not been examined. To that end, this secondary analysis evaluated: (1) the effect of NAC vs. placebo on alcohol use over an eight-week adolescent marijuana cessation trial and (2) the role of marijuana cessation and reduction on subsequent alcohol use.
methodsMarijuana-dependent adolescents (ages 15-21; N=116) interested in treatment were randomized to NAC 1200mg or matched placebo twice daily for eightweeks. Participants were not required to be alcohol users or interested in alcohol cessation to qualify.
resultsThere were no demographic or baseline alcohol use differences between participants randomized to NAC vs. placebo (ps>0.05). Of the 89 participants returning for ≥one visit following randomization, 77 reported ≥one alcoholic drink in the 30days prior to study entry and averaged 1.3 (SD=1.4) binge drinking days per week. During treatment, less marijuana use (measured via urine cannabinoid levels) was associated with less alcohol use in the NAC-treated group but not in the placebo-treated group (p=0.016).
conclusionsThere was no evidence of compensatory alcohol use during marijuana treatment. In fact, in the NAC group, lower levels of marijuana use were associated with less alcohol use, suggesting NAC effects may generalize to other substances and could be useful in decreasing adolescent alcohol use. NAC trials specifically focused on alcohol-using adolescents are warranted.
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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.