Trial reportPharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior2020
Influence of n-acetylcysteine maintenance on the pharmacodynamic effects of oral ethanol.
Trial report in Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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
8 citing papers in PubMed, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Exploring the potential link between ΔFosB andActa neuropsychiatrica · 2024Review
- Current Therapeutic Options and Potential of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy for Alcoholic Liver Disease.Cells · 2022Review
- Logical fallacies and misinterpretations that hinder progress in translational addiction neuroscience.Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior · 2022Article
- Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
rationaleGlutamate systems play an important role in the abuse related effects of alcohol. n-Acetylcysteine, a drug that promotes glutamate homeostasis, attenuates a range of alcohol effects in preclinical models.
objectivesThis human laboratory study determined the influence of n-acetylcysteine maintenance on alcohol self-administration using a model predictive of treatment effectiveness, along with the subjective, performance and physiological effects of alcohol. We hypothesized that n-acetylcysteine would attenuate alcohol self-administration, as well as positive subjective effects of alcohol.
methodsNine subjects with alcohol use disorder completed this within-subjects study. Subjects were maintained on placebo, 1.2 and 2.4 g n-acetylcysteine in random order on an outpatient basis. After five days of maintenance on the target dose, subjects completed overnight inpatient experimental sessions in which the pharmacodynamic effects of alcohol were determined.
resultsAlcohol produced prototypic effects (e.g., increased breath alcohol concentration, increased ratings of Feel Drink). n-Acetylcysteine did not alter the effects of alcohol.
conclusionsThese results indicate that although n-acetylcysteine can safely be combined with alcohol, it does not attenuate the abuse related effects of alcohol and is unlikely to be an effective standalone alcohol use disorder treatment. However, considering study limitations, future work is needed to further understand whether and how n-acetylcysteine might be used as a treatment for alcohol use disorder (e.g., in combination with a behavioral treatment or another pharmacological agent).
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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.