ReviewCNS drugs2022
The Potential of N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine (NAC) in the Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders.
Review in CNS drugs, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 40 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
40 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 74 citations in OpenAlex.
- N-acetylcysteine for patients with alcohol use disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and their co-occurrence: a systematic review of placebo-controlled randomized trials.BMC psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Associations between suicide ideation, craving, and alcohol use across 12 weeks of outpatient treatment for alcohol use disorder.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 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
- 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
- Clinical symptoms and cognitive functioning following adjunctive N-acetylcysteine in obsessive-compulsive disorder: a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.Communications medicine · 2026Article
- Neuroimaging as the 'missing link' for preclinical to clinical translation: an example using N-acetylcysteine among individuals with cocaine- and opioid-use disorders receiving methadone treatment.Psychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Emerging Neurobiological and Therapeutic Insights into Schizophrenia: A Comprehensive Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- A minimal three-arm oral regimen for healthspan: mechanistic alignment with transcriptomic signals from a large parental-lifespan GWAS.Frontiers in aging · 2026Article
- Effects of N-acetyl-L-cysteine on sperm quality during chilled storage of Maguan hornless goat semen.PloS one · 2026Article
- Association of vitamin D and N-acetylcysteine supplementation with anxiety, cognition, and biomarkers in generalized anxiety disorder: a retrospective cohort study.American journal of translational research · 2026Article
- Fueling the future: brain bioenergetics as a driver of neurodevelopment and mental health trajectories.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Can Oxidative Stress Biomarkers Differentiate Trichotillomania from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Healthy Controls?Journal of molecular neuroscience : MN · 2025Article
- Article
- Sex-dependent preventive effects of prenatal N-acetyl-cysteine on neuronal, emotional and metabolic dysfunctions following exposure to maternal high-fat diet in mice.Translational psychiatry · 2025Article
- Current trends and future prospects of N-acetylcysteine utilizations in Parkinson's disease: A literature network analysis.Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences · 2025Review
- Glutamate-Based Therapeutic Strategies for Schizophrenia: Emerging Approaches Beyond Dopamine.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Global Trends in the Use of Pharmacotherapy for the Treatment of Bipolar Disorder.Current psychiatry reports · 2025Review
- N-Acety-L-Cysteine Alleviates Isoflurane-Triggered Neuronal Cell Parthanatos by Suppressing Reactive Oxygen Species Accumulation Through the Induction of c-Jun N-Terminal Kinase Signaling Pathway Inhibition.Journal of biochemical and molecular toxicology · 2025Article
- Chronic Pain and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Scoping Review.Pain and therapy · 2025Review
- Naringenin's Neuroprotective Effect on Diazino-Induced Cerebellar Damage in Male Albino Rats, with Modulation of Acetylcholinesterase.Brain sciences · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) is a compound of increasing interest in the treatment of psychiatric disorders. Primarily through its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and glutamate modulation activity, NAC has been investigated in the treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders, schizophrenia spectrum disorders, bipolar-related disorders, depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive-related disorders, substance-use disorders, neurocognitive disorders, and chronic pain. Whilst there is ample preclinical evidence and theoretical justification for the use of NAC in the treatment of multiple psychiatric disorders, clinical trials in most disorders have yielded mixed results. However, most studies have been underpowered and perhaps too brief, with some evidence of benefit only after months of treatment with NAC. Currently NAC has the most evidence of having a beneficial effect as an adjuvant agent in the negative symptoms of schizophrenia, severe autism, depression, and obsessive compulsive and related disorders. Future research with well-powered studies that are of sufficient length will be critical to better understand the utility of NAC in the treatment of psychiatric disorders.
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.