Tier 3 — preclinical

Glycine and N-acetylcysteine (GlyNAC) supplementation in older adults improves glutathione deficiency, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, insulin resistance, endothelial dysfunction, genotoxicity, muscle strength, and cognition: Results of a pilot clinical trial

Premranjan Kumar, Chun Liu, Jean W Hsu, Shaji Chacko, Charles Minard, Farook Jahoor, Rajagopal V Sekhar
Clin Transl Med 2021 11(3):e372

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 33783984
PubMed Central
PMC8002905
DOI
10.1002/ctm2.372
Funding
Supported by a philanthropic gift from the McNair Medical Institute at the Robert and Janice McNair Foundation.
Competing interests
The authors reported no conflicts of interest.

Study snapshot

DesignOpen-label pilot with young comparison group
ModelHuman
Sample8 older adults and 8 young adults
InterventionGlyNAC supplementation
Duration24 weeks followed by 12-week washout
EndpointsGlutathione; Oxidative stress; Mitochondrial function; Inflammation; Physical function; Cognition

What the study showed, in plain terms

Early pilot that drove much of the interest in GlyNAC for aging biology.

Key findings

A broad range of biochemical and functional measures improved during supplementation and some regressed after washout.

What this study can and cannot tell us

Extremely small, open-label and uncontrolled in the older group; hypothesis-generating rather than definitive.

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