Tier 3 — preclinical

Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder scores are elevated and respond to N-acetylcysteine treatment in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

R J Garcia, L Francis, M Dawood, Z-W Lai, S V Faraone, A Perl
Arthritis Rheum 2013 65(5):1313-1318

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 23400548
PubMed Central
PMC4034122
DOI
10.1002/art.37893
Funding
Funding disclosure was not located in the indexed record reviewed; consult the source publication for the full funding statement.
Competing interests
Competing-interest disclosure was not located in the indexed record reviewed; consult the source publication for the full declaration.

Study snapshot

DesignRandomized placebo-controlled dose study within an SLE population
ModelHuman
Sample24 SLE patients randomized for the ADHD-score analysis: 6 placebo, 9 NAC 2.4 g/day, 9 NAC 4.8 g/day
InterventionNAC 2.4 g/day or 4.8 g/day versus placebo
Duration3 months plus 1-month washout
EndpointsADHD Self-Report Scale total; Inattention/cognitive score; Hyperactivity/impulsivity score; SLE disease activity; Fatigue

What the study showed, in plain terms

Small NAC trial showing improvement in ADHD symptom scores among adults with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Key findings

NAC reduced total and inattentive ASRS scores in the SLE subgroup, while hyperactivity/impulsivity was not clearly improved.

What this study can and cannot tell us

Participants had systemic lupus erythematosus and were not a typical ADHD population; the result cannot be generalized as evidence that NAC treats primary ADHD.

Editorial review

Reviewed by the Biohack Blueprint research team

Last verified

Dr. Khaled Mahmoud, MBBChCritical Care Medicine, Longevity Science & Editorial Direction Dr. Amr Yasser, PhDCardiometabolic, Musculoskeletal, Gut & Bioavailability Dr. Abdulla Mostafa, PhDCellular Senescence, Neurological, Mitochondrial & Brain-Ageing Biology