Pulmonary Fibrosis Support Group

There are ongoing studies on acetylcysteine for pulmonary fibrosis and Ive seen our USC docs involved in them so I wanted to post about this..and hear your experiences:

1) Acetylcysteine (Mucomyst) is a precursor of the antioxidant, glutathione, and has been shown to restore depleted glutathione levels in the lung
2) Interest in acetylcysteine as a potential therapy has increased because an oxidant-antioxidant imbalance may contribute to the pathogenesis of IPF
3) In one small study, treatment with acetylcysteine was associated with increased pulmonary function.
4) A double-blind, controlled, multi-national trial, randomly assigned 155 IPF patients to add either acetylcysteine or placebo to their BASELINE REGIMEN of prednisone and azathioprine for one year. What they found was that Acetylcysteine slowed the deterioration of vital capacity but mortality was not significantly changed.
5) HOW IS IT USED?: The dose of acetylcysteine for the treatment of IPF is 600 mg tab taken orally three times per day (1800 mg/day).
6) What are the common side effects? :It is generally well tolerated. The most common adverse effects include nausea, vomiting, and other gastrointestinal complaints. Rarely, rash with or without fever may occur.


Anyone used this?
Dr O.
Posted on 05/08/07, 07:05 pm