ReviewCurrent neuropharmacology2021
The Multifaceted Therapeutic Role of N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) in Disorders Characterized by Oxidative Stress.
Review in Current neuropharmacology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 188 papers, 3 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
188 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 268 citations in OpenAlex.
- Network meta-analysis of pharmacological treatments for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: evaluating effects on lung function.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Pooled it
- Glutamatergic Medications for Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.JAMA network open · 2025Pooled it
- Efficacy of N-acetylcysteine for Prevention of Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation Following Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Reviews in cardiovascular medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Effect of high dose N-acetyl cysteine supplementation on markers of oxidative stress and insulin resistance in non-diabetic patients with metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease: a randomized controlled trial.BMC gastroenterology · 2026Trial
- Glutamate- and GABA-targeted drugs for Cc-occurring bipolar and alcohol use disorders: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study of N-acetylcysteine, gabapentin, and placebo.Translational psychiatry · 2026Trial
- Efficacy of N-acetylcysteine and motivational enhancement therapy for nicotine addiction: A randomized clinical trial.Narra J · 2025Trial
- Population Pharmacokinetic Model of N-Acetylcysteine During Periods of Recurrent Hypoglycemia in Healthy Volunteers.Clinical pharmacology in drug development · 2023Trial
- Evaluation of the Effects of Atorvastatin and N-Acetyl Cysteine on Platelet Counts in Patients with Primary Immune Thrombocytopenia: An Exploratory Clinical Trial.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2023Trial
- Bioinspired 0D mitochondrial bioenergetic actuators rewire cartilage progenitor cell metabolism for osteoarthritis remission.Bioactive materials · 2026Article
- Unravelling the Therapeutic Potential of Cysteine for Cardiovascular Health.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Review
- Protective in vitro effects of antioxidants against DNA damage induced by metabolites accumulated in propionic and methylmalonic acidemias.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2026Article
- Dapsone and N-Acetylcysteine Exert a Synergistic Antinociceptive Effect Associated with Oxidative Stress After Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury: An Isobolographic Study.Brain sciences · 2026Article
- Mitochondrial Toxicology of Heavy Metals and Pesticides: Transport Systems, Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Permeability Transition.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Cellular and subcellular localization of the copper transporter CTR1 in human postmortem hippocampus and striatum.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Chemotherapy-induced oxidative injury in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia: The role of N-acetylcysteine (Review).Biomedical reports · 2026Review
- Efficacy and Safety of Glutathione Supplementation in Type 2 Diabetes & Diabetes Complications.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Olaparib alleviates diclofenac-induced toxicity in HepG2 cells via modulation of oxidative stress and mitochondrial functions.Molecular and cellular biochemistry · 2026Article
- Article
- Development of a novel GAK solution for efficient hypothermic preservation of NK cell viability and anti-tumor function.Stem cell research & therapy · 2026Article
128 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 9 institutions in 5 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Oxidative stress, which results in the damage of diverse biological molecules, is a ubiquitous cellular process implicated in the etiology of many illnesses. The sulfhydryl-containing tripeptide glutathione (GSH), which is synthesized and maintained at high concentrations in all cells, is one of the mechanisms by which cells protect themselves from oxidative stress. N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a synthetic derivative of the endogenous amino acid L-cysteine and a precursor of GSH, has been used for several decades as a mucolytic and as an antidote to acetaminophen (paracetamol) poisoning. As a mucolytic, NAC breaks the disulfide bonds of heavily cross-linked mucins, thereby reducing mucus viscosity. In vitro, NAC has antifibrotic effects on lung fibroblasts. As an antidote to acetaminophen poisoning, NAC restores the hepatic GSH pool depleted in the drug detoxification process. More recently, improved knowledge of the mechanisms by which NAC acts has expanded its clinical applications. In particular, the discovery that NAC can modulate the homeostasis of glutamate has prompted studies of NAC in neuropsychiatric diseases characterized by impaired glutamate homeostasis. This narrative review provides an overview of the most relevant and recent evidence on the clinical application of NAC, with a focus on respiratory diseases, acetaminophen poisoning, disorders of the central nervous system (chronic neuropathic pain, depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and addiction), cardiovascular disease, contrast-induced nephropathy, and ophthalmology (retinitis pigmentosa).
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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.