BACKGROUND This study investigated the effect of thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP) on oxidative liver damage induced in rats with high-dose paracetamol. METHODS Rats for this experiment were divided into the following groups: healthy control, paracetamol control, thiamine + paracetamol, TPP + paracetamol, and N-acetylcysteine + paracetamol. Oxidant and antioxidant parameters and liver function tes...

A quantitative reversed-phase HPLC method has been developed that enables determination of both low endogenous and high therapeutic concentrations of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in plasma. The compound is detected fluorimetrically after derivatisation with ortho-phthalaldehyde in the presence of a primary amine. Validation of the method revealed injection and method repeatability were good. The line...

Recent evidence suggests that endothelium-derived relaxing factor exhibits properties of nitric oxide. Like nitric oxide, it inhibits platelet function and mediates its effects by elevating intracellular cyclic GMP. In this study we have investigated the role of reduced thiol in the mechanism of action of endothelium-derived relaxing factor on platelets. Bovine aortic endothelial cells were gro...

N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is used widely and effectively in oral and intravenous forms as a specific antidote for acetaminophen poisoning. Here we report a rare case of iatrogenic NAC overdose following an error in preparation of the solution, and describe its clinical symptoms. Laboratory results and are presented and examined. A 23-year-old alert female patient weighing 65 kg presented to the em...

The mucociliary transport system plays an important role in the clearance of excessive mucus and inhaled foreign materials from the respiratory tract. Airway epithelium’s ciliary structure is a part of the natural defense system that protects the respiratory system by propelling debris laden mucus. The mucus flow is generated by the vigorous asymmetric beating of the cilia, which can be named a...

N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is a nonspecific antioxidant that selectively inhibits acute fatigue of rodent skeletal muscle stimulated at low (but not high) tetanic frequencies and that decreases contractile function of unfatigued muscle in a dose-dependent manner. The present experiments test the hypothesis that NAC pretreatment can inhibit acute muscular fatigue in humans. Healthy volunteers were s...

Jennifer E. Murray1,2,*, Jérôme Lacoste3 and David Belin2,4 1Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, 2INSERM European Associated Laboratory, Psychobiology of Compulsive Habits, 3Unité de Recherche Clinique Intersectorielle, Centre Hospitalier Henri-Laborit, Poitiers, 4INSERM U1084 LNEC & Université de Poitiers, AVENIR Team Psychobiology of Compulsive Disorders...

Dear Editor, I read with interest the case report by Sule et al,1 published in the February 2006 issue of the journal. They reported a case of massive ingestion of paracetamol, successfully managed by a 3-day infusion of N-acetylcysteine. They concluded that a modified 3-day regime is safe and efficacious. Prolonged infusion of N-acetylcysteine for treatment of significant acetaminophen overdos...