ALSUntangled #82: N-acetylcysteine
N-acetylcysteine is a thiol-containing compound and a precursor of glutathione, with mechanistic plausibility for ALS, including reducing oxidative stress, regulating neuroinflammation, and mitigating mitochondrial dysfunction. Preclinical studies have yielded conflicting results on whether N-acetylcysteine can delay the onset of motor impairment and prolong survival in ALS mouse models. Several case studies of oral or subcutaneous administration of N-acetylcysteine in patients with ALS did not demonstrate convincing benefits. Clinical trials to date have also failed to demonstrate efficacy in slowing ALS progression. While N-acetylcysteine shows theoretical promise, further research is needed to clarify its therapeutic role in ALS. At present, ALSUntangled does not support the use of N-acetylcysteine as a treatment to slow ALS progression.
Authors
- E. Pioro
- Bhavya Bakshi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9249-5711)
- W Paul
- David Shirilla
- Kara A. Dyckman
- Juliette Foucher (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9026-0268)
- Sarah R. Breevoort
- Vincent K. Chang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7984-1192)
- Sandeep Yerraguntla (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-8673-1143)
- Carlayne E. Jackson
- Olimpia Carbunar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-1065-5411)
- G. H. Carter
- Andrew Brown (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-2884-8672)
- Richard Bedlack (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4666-7495)
- G. I. Nathaniel
- Bertorini Te
- Morgan Beauchamp
- Olivia Wang
- Ethan Greenstein
- Elia Tito
- Sabrina Paganoni
- Gary L. Pattee
- Natasha J Olby
- Dylan Ratner
- Yuyao Sun
- Keshav Chandran
- Anusha Rao
- Xiaoyan Li
- Nicholas Maragakis
- Michael Benatar
- Basil Elsharif
- Olivia Allen
- Christopher McDermott
- Nan Jiang
Institutions
- Tulane University (US)
- Campbell University (US)
- Karolinska University Hospital (SE)
- Harvard University (US)
- North Carolina State University (US)
- University of British Columbia (CA)
- University of Kentucky (US)
- Johns Hopkins University (US)
- University of Miami (US)
- Eastern Virginia Medical School (US)
- University of Tennessee Health Science Center (US)
- The University of Texas at San Antonio Health Science Center (US)
- Duke University (US)
- Medical College of Wisconsin (US)
- Augusta University (US)
- University Medical Center (US)
- University B.T. & Evening College (IN)
- University of Alabama at Birmingham (US)
- Massachusetts General Hospital (US)
- Compumedics (Australia) (AU)
- Goucher College (US)
- Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre (AU)
- Marymount University (US)
- Old Dominion University (US)
- University of Sheffield (GB)
- The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (US)
- Georgia Highlands College (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Degeneration
- Published
- 2026-03-04
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1080/21678421.2026.2638590
- Primary Topic
- Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00