1. N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) in Schizophrenia Resistant to Clozapine: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial Targeting Negative Symptoms.
- Author
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Neill, Erica, Rossell, Susan L, Yolland, Caitlin, Meyer, Denny, Galletly, Cherrie, Harris, Anthony, Siskind, Dan, Berk, Michael, Bozaoglu, Kiymet, Dark, Frances, Dean, Olivia M, Francis, Paul S, Liu, Dennis, Phillipou, Andrea, Sarris, Jerome, and Castle, David J
- Subjects
DRUG therapy for schizophrenia ,MENTAL illness drug therapy ,ACETYLCYSTEINE ,DRUG efficacy ,RESEARCH ,CONFIDENCE intervals ,SCHIZOPHRENIA ,COGNITION ,INTERVIEWING ,RANDOMIZED controlled trials ,PSYCHOLOGICAL tests ,SEVERITY of illness index ,CLOZAPINE ,BLIND experiment ,QUALITY of life ,QUESTIONNAIRES ,MENTAL depression ,REPEATED measures design ,STATISTICAL hypothesis testing ,DESCRIPTIVE statistics ,STATISTICAL sampling ,STATISTICAL models ,LONGITUDINAL method - Abstract
Background and Hypothesis Clozapine is the most effective antipsychotic for treatment-resistant schizophrenia, yet a significant proportion of individuals on clozapine continue to experience disabling symptoms, despite being treated with an adequate dose. There is a need for adjunct treatments to augment clozapine, notably for negative and cognitive symptoms. One such potential agent is the glutathione precursor N -acetylcysteine (NAC). Study Design A randomized double-blind, multi-center, placebo-controlled trial for clozapine patients with enduring psychotic symptoms (n = 84) was undertaken to investigate the efficacy of adjunctive NAC (2 g daily) for negative symptoms, cognition and quality of life (QoL). Efficacy was assessed at 8, 24, and 52 weeks. Study Results NAC did not significantly improve negative symptoms (P =.62), overall cognition (P =.71) or quality of life (Manchester quality of life: P =.11; Assessment of quality of life: P =.57) at any time point over a 1-year period of treatment. There were no differences in reported side effects between the groups (P =.26). Conclusions NAC did not significantly improve schizophrenia symptoms, cognition, or quality of life in treatment-resistant patients taking clozapine. This trial was registered with "Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials" on the 30 May, 2016 (Registration Number: ACTRN12615001273572). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
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