N-acetylcysteine as a mitochondrial enhancer: a new class of psychoactive drugs?

Abstract

Comments on an article by P. V. Magalhães et al. (see record [rid]2012-03669-011[/rid]). In their article, Magalhães et al. showed that add-on N-acetylcysteine (NAC) therapy improved depressive symptoms and functional outcomes in bipolar disorder patients. However, further studies are warranted in light of NAC effects on treating depressive episodes in bipolar disorder. As far as it seems, according to the current authors, NAC may be the first pharmacological intervention that increases mitochondrial resilience and prevents allostatic load in psychiatry. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)