Trial reportDrug and alcohol dependence2018
The effect of N-acetylcysteine on alcohol use during a cannabis cessation trial.
Trial report in Drug and alcohol dependence, 2018. 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 31 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
31 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 59 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
- 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
- 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
- Evaluating N-acetylcysteine for early and end-of-treatment abstinence in adult cigarette smokers.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2021Trial
- Influence of n-acetylcysteine maintenance on the pharmacodynamic effects of oral ethanol.Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior · 2020Trial
- Depressive symptoms and cannabis use in a placebo-controlled trial of N-Acetylcysteine for adult cannabis use disorder.Psychopharmacology · 2020Trial
- 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
- Article
- Brain glutathione levels and associations with recent drinking in treatment-naïve individuals with alcohol use disorder versus light drinkers.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2025Article
- 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
- Imaging neuroinflammation in individuals with substance use disorders.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2024Review
- Multi-modal neuroimaging reveals differences in alcohol-cue reactivity but not neurometabolite concentrations in adolescents who drink alcohol.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2024Article
- The vicious cycle between (neuro)inflammation and alcohol use disorder: An opportunity to develop new medications?Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2023Article
- Current Therapeutic Options and Potential of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy for Alcoholic Liver Disease.Cells · 2022Review
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
backgroundIndividuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) do not always respond to currently available treatments, and evaluation of new candidate pharmacotherapies is indicated. N-acetylcysteine (NAC), an over-the-counter supplement, has shown promise in treating a variety of substance use disorders, but little research has evaluated its merits as a treatment for AUD. This secondary analysis from the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network examined the effects of NAC versus placebo on alcohol use among participants with cannabis use disorder (CUD) enrolled in a 12-week, multi-site cannabis cessation trial.
methodsParticipants (N = 302, ages 18-50) were randomized to double-blind NAC (1200 mg, twice daily) or placebo. Neither alcohol use nor desire for alcohol cessation were requirements for participation. Participants that returned for at least one treatment visit and had recorded alcohol use data (i.e., total drinks per week, drinking days per week, and binge drinking days per week) were included in the analysis (n = 277).
resultsCompared to the placebo group, participants in the NAC group had increased odds of between-visit alcohol abstinence [OR = 1.37; 95% CI = 1.06-1.78; p = 0.019], fewer drinks per week [RR = 0.67; 95% CI = 0.48-0.99; p = 0.045], and fewer drinking days per week [RR = 0.69; 95% CI = 0.51-0.92; p = 0.014]. Changes in concurrent cannabis use amounts were not correlated to any of the alcohol use variables. DISCUSSION: These findings indicate that NAC may be effective at reducing consumption of alcohol by ∼30% among treatment-seeking adults with CUD, suggesting a need for further trials focused on the effects of NAC on alcohol consumption among individuals seeking treatment for AUD.
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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.