CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 93Smoking Behavior and CessationSubstance Abuse Treatment and OutcomesNicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors Study

Efficacy of N-Acetylcysteine in the Treatment of Nicotine Dependence: A Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Pilot Study

Schmaal, Lianne, Berk, Lotte, Hulstijn, Kai P., Cousijn, Janna, Wiers, Reinout W., van den Brink, Wim·2011·European Addiction Research
DOI 10.1159/000327682
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

Relapse is the rule rather than the exception in smokers aiming to quit smoking. Recently, evidence has emerged that glutamate transmission plays an important role in relapse. N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a cysteine prodrug, restores glutamate homeostasis and appears to be a potential new treatment for substance dependence. In the current pilot study, the effects of NAC on short-term abstinence of smoking were investigated. Subjects were heavy smokers randomized to receive placebo (n = 12) or NAC 3,600 mg/day (n = 10) in a double-blind fashion during 3.5 days. Subjects were asked to stop smoking and report on nicotine craving, nicotine withdrawal symptoms, and cigarette smoking during treatment. At the end of the treatment, subjects were invited to smoke a cigarette and to rate the rewarding effect of this cigarette. There was no significant effect of NAC on craving (p = 0.23, d = 0.52) and only a statistical trend towards fewer withdrawal symptoms in the NAC condition (p = 0.07, d = 0.80). Interestingly, subjects receiving NAC rated the first cigarette after the abstinence period of 3.5 days as significantly less rewarding than subjects on placebo (p = 0.04, d = 0.85). It is concluded that the results of this pilot study are encouraging and suggest that NAC might be a promising new treatment option for relapse prevention in nicotine dependence.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1159/000327682

Cites

47 of 47 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • The two prior studies provide inconsistent evidence that NAC may have some efficacy in treating tobacco use disorder.

    “All in all, these two studies provide inconsistent evidence that NAC may have some efficacy in the treatment of tobacco use disorder.”

    From <i>N</i>-acetylcysteine for therapy-resistant tobacco use disorder: a pilot study (2015) · cites this paper as [8]

  • A second pilot double-blind study found that smokers treated with NAC 3.6 g/day reported the first cigarette after 3.5 days of abstinence was significantly less rewarding than placebo, and reported a non-significant trend toward fewer withdrawal symptoms.

    “These authors found that smokers treated with NAC reported that the first cigarette after an abstinence period of 3.5 days was significantly less rewarding than reported by subjects who were treated with placebo.The authors also reported a non-significant trend toward fewer withdrawal symptoms in the patients treated with NAC. 8”

    From <i>N</i>-acetylcysteine for therapy-resistant tobacco use disorder: a pilot study (2015) · cites this paper as [8]

  • In addictions, glutamate, which is restored by NAC, is a core determinant of relapses.

    “In addictions, glutamate, which is restored by NAC, is a core determinant of relapses.8”

    From <i>N</i>-acetylcysteine for therapy-resistant tobacco use disorder: a pilot study (2015) · cites this paper as [8]

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 5

  1. Gray KM, Watson NL, Carpenter MJ, LaRowe SD: N-acetylcysteine in young mar- ijuana users: an open-label pilot study. Am J Addict 2010; 19: 187-189.
  2. Sobell LC, Sobell MB: Timeline followback: a technique for assessing self-reported alco- hol consumption; in Litten RZ, Allen J (eds): Measuring Alcohol Consumption: Psycho- social and Biological Methods. New Jersey, Humana Press, 1992, pp 41-72.
  3. Cappelleri JC, Bushmakin AG, Baker CL, Merikle E, Olufade AO, Gilbert DG: Multi- variate framework of the Brief Question- naire of Smoking Urges. Drug Alcohol De- pend 2007; 90: 234-242.
  4. Blondal T, Gudmundsson LJ, Olafsdottir I, Gustavsson G, Westin A: Nicotine nasal spray with nicotine patch for smoking cessa- tion: randomised trial with six-year follow- up. BMJ 1999; 318: 285-288.
  5. Markou A: Neurobiology of nicotine depen- dence. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2008; 363: 3159-3168.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Schmaal, L., Berk, L., Hulstijn, K. P., Cousijn, J., Wiers, R. W., & van den Brink, W.
Affiliations
  • Amsterdam UMC Location University of Amsterdam (NL)
  • University of Amsterdam (NL)
ORCID
Venue
European Addiction Research
Publisher
S. Karger AG
Published
2011
Volume
17
Issue
4
Pages
211-216
ISSN
  • 1022-6877 (ISSN-L)
  • 1421-9891
DOI
10.1159/000327682
OpenAlex
W2078377798
Cited by
93
References
47
Citations by year
2025: 2 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 5
FWCI
4.80
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
Locations
  • European Addiction Research (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
  • UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam) (submittedVersion)
  • Pure Amsterdam UMC (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Smoking Behavior and Cessation
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors Study
Keywords
N-acetylcysteine, nicotine dependence, smoking cessation, relapse prevention, glutamatergic neurotransmission, glutamate homeostasis, nicotine craving, nicotine withdrawal symptoms, short-term abstinence
MeSH terms
Acetylcysteine, Double-Blind Method, Female, Humans, Male, Pilot Projects, Tobacco Use Disorder, Smoking Cessation, Treatment Outcome, Secondary Prevention, Young Adult

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review