N-Acetyl Cysteine

• What other names is N-acetyl Cysteine known by?
• What is N-acetyl Cysteine?
• How does N-acetyl Cysteine work?
• Are there safety concerns?
• Are there any interactions with medications?
• Dosing considerations for N-acetyl Cysteine

What other names is N-acetyl Cysteine known by?

Acetyl Cysteine, Acetylcysteine, Cysteine, Cysteine Hydrochloride, Cystine, L-Cysteine, L-Cysteine HCl, NAC, N-Acetyl-B-Cysteine, N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine, N-Acetylcysteine, N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine.

What is N-acetyl Cysteine?

N-acetyl cysteine comes from the amino acid L-cysteine. (Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins).

Effective for...

• Helping to prevent crusting in people with tracheostomy.
• Acetaminophen (Tylenol) poisoning.
• Reducing mucus and helping with breathing in various lung conditions.
• Cystic fibrosis.

Possibly Effective for...

• Chest pain (angina).
• Preventing complications of chronic bronchitis.
• Preventing complications of lung disease (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD).
• Preventing side effects of ifosfamide (Ifex, used for certain types of cancer).
• Preventing kidney problems with dyes used during some X-ray exams.
• Reducing homocysteine levels (a possible risk factor for heart disease).
• Reducing symptoms of the flu.
• Treating some types of epilepsy (seizures).
• Treating a lung disease called fibrosing alveolitis.
• Preventing problems such as heart attack and stroke in people with serious kidney disease.

Possibly Ineffective for...

• Preventing side effects of doxorubicin (used for certain types of cancer).
• Treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease).

Likely Ineffective for...

• Preventing new tumors in people with head and neck cancer, or lung cancer.
• Treating Alzheimer's disease.
• Improving how the body responds to nitroglycerin (Nitrostat).
• Treating organ failure.

Insufficient Evidence to Rate Effectiveness for...

• Carbon monoxide poisoning; allergic reactions to phenytoin (Dilantin); ear infections; hayfever; removing heavy metals such as mercury, lead, and cadmium from the body; chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS); preventing alcoholic liver damage; protecting against environmental pollutants; colon cancer; and other conditions.

Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database rates effectiveness based on scientific evidence according to the following scale: Effective, Likely Effective, Possibly Effective, Possibly Ineffective, Likely Ineffective, and Insufficient Evidence to Rate (detailed description of each of the ratings).

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