Artigo Acesso aberto Produção Nacional Revisado por pares

N -acetylcysteine for therapy-resistant tobacco use disorder: a pilot study

2015; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 20; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1179/1351000215y.0000000004

ISSN

1743-2928

Autores

Eduardo Seixas Prado, Michaël Maes, Luiz Gustavo Piccoli, Marcela M. Baracat, Décio Sabattini Barbosa, Olavo Franco, Seetal Dodd, Michael Berk, Sandra Odebrecht Vargas Nunes,

Tópico(s)

Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research

Resumo

IntroductionN-Acetylcysteine (NAC) may have efficacy in treating tobacco use disorder (TUD) by reducing craving and smoking reward. This study examines whether treatment with NAC may have a clinical efficacy in the treatment of TUD.MethodsA 12-week double blind randomized controlled trial was conducted to compare the clinical efficacy of NAC 3 g/day versus placebo. We recruited 34 outpatients with therapy resistant TUD concurrently treated with smoking-focused group behavioral therapy. Participants had assessments of daily cigarette use (primary outcome), exhaled carbon monoxide (COEXH) (secondary outcome), and quit rates as defined by COEXH<6 ppm. Depression was measured with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS). Data were analyzed using conventional and modified intention-to-treat endpoint analyses.ResultsNAC treatment significantly reduced the daily number of cigarettes used (Δ mean±SD = −10.9 ± 7.9 in the NAC-treated versus −3.2 ± 6.1 in the placebo group) and COEXH (Δ mean± SD = −10.4 ± 8.6 ppm in the NAC-treated versus −1.5 ± 4.5 ppm in the placebo group); 47.1% of those treated with NAC versus 21.4% of placebo-treated patients were able to quit smoking as defined by COEXH<6 ppm. NAC treatment significantly reduced the HDRS score in patients with tobacco use disorder.ConclusionsThese data show that treatment with NAC may have a clinical efficacy in TUD. NAC combined with appropriate psychotherapy appears to be an efficient treatment option for TUD.

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