NAC Supplementation Reduces COPD Exacerbations
N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) reduces exacerbations in subjects with high-risk chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a study published in May 2014. The American Lung Association states that COPD is the third leading cause of death in America. An estimated 12.7 million U.S. adults aged 18 and over have COPD. However, close to 24 million U.S. adults have evidence of impaired lung function, indicating an under diagnosis of the disease.
Researchers randomly assigned 120 subjects with spirometry-confirmed stable COPD to receive NAC 600 mg twice daily or placebo in addition to their usual treatments for one year. The investigators evaluated the subjects every 16 weeks for one year. The researchers also determined exacerbation risk at the beginning of the study defined by the current Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) strategy for classification of exacerbation risk.
The investigators found that among the subjects at high-risk for exacerbations, NAC supplementation significantly reduced exacerbation frequency at eight and 12 months compared to the placebo group. Additionally, the researchers showed that NAC supplementation in the high-exacerbation risk subjects prolonged time-to-first exacerbation and increased the probability of being exacerbation-free at one year to 51.3 percent compared to 24.4 percent in the placebo group. The researchers did not find that NAC was beneficial among the low-exacerbation risk subjects.
The researchers concluded, ‘High-dose NAC (600 mg twice daily for one year) reduces exacerbations, and prolongs time to first exacerbation in high-risk but not in low-exacerbation risk Chinese COPD patients.”
Reference:
Tse HN, et al. Chest. 2014 May 15.
