Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Clinical Trial
. 2006 Jan-Feb;15(1):105-10.
doi: 10.1080/10550490500419169.

Safety and tolerability of N-acetylcysteine in cocaine-dependent individuals

Steven D LaRowe  1 , Pascale Mardikian, Robert Malcolm, Hugh Myrick, Peter Kalivas, Krista McFarland, Michael Saladin, Aimee McRae, Kathleen Brady
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Safety and tolerability of N-acetylcysteine in cocaine-dependent individuals

Steven D LaRowe et al. Am J Addict. 2006 Jan-Feb.

Abstract

A double-blind placebo-controlled crossover Phase I trial was conducted to assess the safety and tolerability of N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) in healthy, cocaine-dependent humans. Thirteen participants attended a three-day hospitalization in which they received placebo or NAC. Subjects were crossed over to receive the opposite medication condition during a second three-day hospitalization, which occurred the following week. Across placebo and NAC conditions, only mild side effects were noted, and the number of subjects reporting side effects did not differ. There were trends for a greater reduction in withdrawal symptoms and craving within the NAC condition. These preliminary results suggest that NAC is well tolerated in healthy, cocaine-dependent individuals and may reduce cocaine-related withdrawal symptoms and craving.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Change in Craving Scores Over Time
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Drug Abuse Warning Network . Office of Applied Studies; Washington, DC: 2001.
    1. Brust JC, Richter R. Stroke associated with cocaine abuse. New York State Journal of Medicine. 1977;77:1473–1475. - PubMed
    1. Schwartz KA, Cohen JA. Subarachnoid hemorrhage precipitated by cocaine snorting. Arch Neurol. 1984;41:705. - PubMed
    1. Cregler LL, Mark H. Medical complications of cocaine abuse. N Eng J Med. 1986;315:1495–1500. - PubMed
    1. Booth RE, Watters JK, Chitwood DD. HIV risk-related sex behaviors among injection drug users, crack smokers, and injection drug users who smoke crack. Am J Public Health. 1993;83:1144–1148. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types