Trial reportJournal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)2017
The effect of N-acetylcysteine on brain glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid concentrations and on smoking cessation: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
Trial report in Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England), 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05903014 (Effectiveness of N-Acetylcysteine in Motivational Enhancement Therapy for Nicotine Addiction), which is not on this map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
Effectiveness of N-Acetylcysteine in Motivational Enhancement Therapy for Nicotine Addiction: Study on the Dopaminergic Pathways, Changes in Functional Connectivity of fMRI Bold, and Changes in Smoking Abstinence
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 26 citations in OpenAlex.
- N-acetylcysteine as a treatment for substance use cravings: A meta-analysis.Addiction biology · 2024Pooled it
- 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
- 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
- An evaluation of N-acetylcysteine in a sequential oxycodone and cocaine rat self-administration model.Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Effects of N-acetylcysteine treatment on frontal glutamate and GABA levels and associations with drinking quantity in people with co-occurring posttraumatic stress disorder and alcohol use disorder.Psychopharmacology · 2025Article
- The Central Nervous System Modulatory Activities of N-Acetylcysteine: A Synthesis of Two Decades of Evidence.Current issues in molecular biology · 2025Review
- Exploring the potential link between ΔFosB andActa neuropsychiatrica · 2024Review
- N-acetylcysteine as a treatment for substance use cravings: A meta-analysis.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2024Article
- Smoking, tobacco dependence, and neurometabolites in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex.Molecular psychiatry · 2023Article
- N-acetylcysteine for smoking cessation among dual users of tobacco and cannabis: Protocol and rationale for a randomized controlled trial.Contemporary clinical trials · 2023Article
- The Potential of N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine (NAC) in the Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders.CNS drugs · 2022Review
- N-acetylcysteine (NAC) for methamphetamine dependence: A randomised controlled trial.EClinicalMedicine · 2021Article
- 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
- The potential ofPsychopharmacology · 2021Review
- Lack of correlation between CSF glutamate levels and PSQI scores in heavy smokers.Sleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung · 2019Article
- N-acetyl cysteine in the treatment of alcohol use disorder in patients with liver disease: Rationale for further research.Expert opinion on investigational drugs · 2018Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Using data form a 14-day double-blind trial with 48 smokers randomized to either N-acetylcysteine (2400 mg) or placebo, we tested the effect of N-acetylcysteine on glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid concentrations in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and on smoking cessation. Smoking related behaviors and neurotransmitter concentrations in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex were assessed before and after treatment. Forty-seven non-smoking males served as baseline controls. Smokers showed higher baseline glutamate but similar gamma-aminobutyric acid concentrations than non-smokers. There were no treatment effects on dorsal anterior cingulate cortex neurotransmitter concentrations, smoking cessation, craving, or withdrawal symptoms. These results confirm glutamate disbalance in smokers, but not efficacy of N-acetylcysteine.
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.