Trial reportThe international journal of neuropsychopharmacology2019
N-Acetyl-Cysteine Supplementation Improves Functional Connectivity Within the Cingulate Cortex in Early Psychosis: A Pilot Study.
Trial report in The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 37 citations in OpenAlex.
- Nutraceuticals and phytoceuticals in the treatment of schizophrenia: a systematic review and network meta-analysis "Nutra NMA SCZ".Molecular psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Nutraceuticals in Psychiatric Disorders: A Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Pooled it
- Effect of single dose N-acetylcysteine administration on resting state functional connectivity in schizophrenia.Psychopharmacology · 2020Trial
- Clinical outcomes of mitochondrial-enhancing nutraceutical supplementation in psychiatric disorders: A systematic review.General psychiatry · 2026Article
- Nutritional Management of Schizophrenia: Gut-Brain Axis Mechanisms and Dietary Interventions.Molecular neurobiology · 2026Review
- Protective Effects of N-Acetylcysteine Against Schizophrenia-Related Behavioral and Parvalbumin Interneuron Deficits Induced by Adolescent Stress.Schizophrenia bulletin open · 2025Article
- Is it possible to prevent excessive synaptic pruning in schizophrenia? Possibilities and limitations.Frontiers in synaptic neuroscience · 2025Review
- The cingulum: anatomy, connectivity and what goes beyond.Brain communications · 2025Review
- Glutathione in HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders.Current issues in molecular biology · 2024Review
- IL-8 (CXCL8) Correlations with Psychoneuroimmunological Processes and Neuropsychiatric Conditions.Journal of personalized medicine · 2024Review
- Associations between antipsychotics-induced weight gain and brain networks of impulsivity.Translational psychiatry · 2024Article
- Nutraceuticals and phytoceuticals in the treatment of schizophrenia: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Research square · 2024Article
- Article
- Schizophrenia and Glutathione: A Challenging Story.Journal of personalized medicine · 2023Review
- Redox and Immune Signaling in Schizophrenia: New Therapeutic Potential.The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology · 2023Review
- Connecting Neurobiological Features with Interregional Dysconnectivity in Social-Cognitive Impairments of Schizophrenia.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Schizophrenia Synaptic Pathology and Antipsychotic Treatment in the Framework of Oxidative and Mitochondrial Dysfunction: Translational Highlights for the Clinics and Treatment.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- The Potential of N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine (NAC) in the Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders.CNS drugs · 2022Review
- Caught in vicious circles: a perspective on dynamic feed-forward loops driving oxidative stress in schizophrenia.Molecular psychiatry · 2022Review
- Clinical translational neuroimaging of the antioxidant effect of N-acetylcysteine on neural microstructure.Magnetic resonance in medicine · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThere is increasing evidence that redox dysregulation, which can lead to oxidative stress and eventually to impairment of oligodendrocytes and parvalbumin interneurons, may underlie brain connectivity alterations in schizophrenia. Accordingly, we previously reported that levels of brain antioxidant glutathione in the medial prefrontal cortex were positively correlated with increased functional connectivity along the cingulum bundle in healthy controls but not in early psychosis patients. In a recent randomized controlled trial, we observed that 6-month supplementation with a glutathione precursor, N-acetyl-cysteine, increased brain glutathione levels and improved symptomatic expression and processing speed.
methodsWe investigated the effect of N-acetyl-cysteine supplementation on the functional connectivity between regions of the cingulate cortex, which have been linked to positive symptoms and processing speed decline. In this pilot study, we compared structural connectivity and resting-state functional connectivity between early psychosis patients treated with 6-month N-acetyl-cysteine (n = 9) or placebo (n = 11) supplementation with sex- and age-matched healthy control subjects (n = 74).
resultsWe observed that 6-month N-acetyl-cysteine supplementation increases functional connectivity along the cingulum and more precisely between the caudal anterior part and the isthmus of the cingulate cortex. These functional changes can be partially explained by an increase of centrality of these regions in the functional brain network.
conclusionsN-acetyl-cysteine supplementation has a positive effect on functional connectivity within the cingulate cortex in early psychosis patients. To our knowledge, this is the first study suggesting that increased brain glutathione levels via N-acetyl-cysteine supplementation may improve brain functional connectivity.
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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.