Comment · Mon, August 19, 2013 · Ceretropic
Has anyone tried N-acetylcysteine or N-Acetylcysteine amide?
Original post in this thread
ontodynamics · 19 points
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23538074
N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) is a precursor to the essential amino acid, cysteine. Unlike cysteine, NAC can penetrate the blood-brain barrier such that by oral supplementation, it can increase blood and brain levels of cysteine. Preclinical data, case reports, and clinical studies indicate potential benefits of NAC for the treatment of addictions, bipolar depression, schizophrenia, autism, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), tri-chotillomania, nail biting, skin picking, overdoses, and environmental toxic exposures.
NAC plays important roles in metabolic pathways believed to contribute to psychi-atric disorders:
1. By increasing levels of brain cysteine, NAC was able to modulate glutamatergic and dopaminergic pathways. In vitro studies show a reduction in synaptic release of glutamate and an increase in dopamine release.
2. Oxidative stress has been implicated as contributing to psychiatric disorders.
Glutathione (GSH) is the body’s main endogenous antioxidant. As a precursor to GSH, NAC has been widely used to replenish GSH, for example in the treatment of acetaminophen overdose. In addition, NAC directly scavenges reactive ox…
What they were answering
tigerthink · 1 points
Here's a study suggesting that NAC before drinking is good, but after drinking is bad.
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb · Ceretropic
Good find!
I always take my NAC before I go out drinking. Now I have a reason to make sure that always happens. I always knew that NAC could be prooxidant in some situations. I just did not think that it would happen post alcohol consumption. This study changes my view a bit.
This study could also have implications for NAC's use with other drugs, like MDMA. Pretreatment is the key.