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Health News Archive 118 - Lung Function
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N-Acetyl Cysteine Slows Lung
Decline in Pulmonary Fibrosis
The Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis International Group
Exploring N-Acetyl Cysteine I Annual (IFIGENIA) trial reported that
N-acetyl cysteine, a precursor of the antioxidant glutathione, slows the
deterioration of lung function in patients being treated for idiopathic
pulmonary fibrosis. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a chronic progressive
interstitial pneumonia whose cause is unknown, although an
oxidant-antioxidant imbalance may contribute to the disease process. The
findings were reported in the November 24 2005 issue of the New England
Journal of Medicine.
In a double-blind placebo controlled trial, 182 pulmonary fibrosis
patients were randomized to receive 600 milligrams N-acetylcysteine or a
placebo three times per day for one year. Participants were also given
prednisone and azathioprine, which are standard drugs prescribed for the
disease. Vital capacity and and single-breath carbon monoxide diffusing
capacity, which are measures of lung function, were measured at the
beginning of the study, and at six and twelve months.
One hundred eight of the original participants completed the one-year
study. Subjects who received N-acetyl cysteine experienced a slower loss
of vital capacity and single-breath carbon monoxide diffusing capacity
than did those who received the placebo, and had greater values for both
measurements at twelve months. Mortality was slightly lower among those
who received N-acetyl cysteine.
The authors concluded that adding 600 milligrams acetyl cysteine three
times daily to a regimen of prednisone and azathioprine helps preserve
lung function in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients better than drug
therapy alone. "High-dose acetylcysteine in addition to standard therapy
is," they write, "therefore, a rational treatment option for patients with
idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis."
Source: Hunninghake, GW. Antioxidant Therapy
for Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. New Eng J Med Nov 24, 2005;
353:2285-2287.
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