N‐Acetyl Cysteine Is Associated With Dopaminergic Improvement in Parkinson's Disease

This study assessed the biological and clinical effects in patients with Parkinson's disease ( PD ) of N‐acetyl‐cysteine ( NAC ), the prodrug to l ‐cysteine, a precursor to the natural biological antioxidant glutathione. Forty‐two patients with PD were randomized to either weekly intravenous infusions of NAC (50 mg/kg) plus oral doses (500 mg twice per day) for 3 months or standard of care only. Participants received prebrain and postbrain imaging with ioflupane (DaTscan) to measure dopamine transporter ( DAT ) binding. In the NAC group, significantly increased DAT binding was found in the caudate and putamen (mean increase from 3.4% to 8.3%) compared with controls ( P  < 0.05), along with significantly improved PD symptoms ( P  < 0.0001). The results suggest NAC may positively affect the dopaminergic system in patients with PD , with corresponding positive clinical effects. Larger scale studies are warranted.