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. 2018 Jan 15;8:744. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2017.00744

Table 1.

Characteristics of human studies.

Reference Population, mean/median age Sample size, % male Injury type Control NAC(A) dose Via First dose Other doses Length of follow-up Outcome(s) measured Findings
Amen et al. (34) Retired NFL players, age: NR N = 30, 100% Repeated mild TBI Self-matched Diet with NAC Oral NR Diet supplement, dose NR 2–12 months Microcognitive test, SPECT image analysis

  1. Improvement of general cognition

  2. Improvements in brain perfusion
Hoffer et al. (35) Military personnel, median age: 22 years N = 81, 99% Mild post blast injury Placebo 4 g loading dose Oral Up to 72 h 4 g/day for 4 days followed by 3 g/day for 3 days 7 days Hearing loss, headache, confusion, memory, sleep and balance problems, COWA, animal naming

  1. Improvement in cognition and balance

  2. Significant resolution of symptoms
Clark et al. (36) Children, mean age: 9 years N = 14, 60% Severe, GCS ≤ 8 Placebo NAC 140 mg/kg/dose and probenecid 25 mg/kg/dose NG tube NR NAC 70 mg/kg/dose, 17 doses over 3 days and probenecid 10 mg/kg 11 doses over 3 days 14 days Adverse events and antioxidant reserve

  1. No adverse events in the NAC group

COWA, controlled oral word association test; GCS, Glasgow coma scale; NAC, N-acetyl cysteine; NR, not reported; SPECT, single-photon emission computed tomography.