Journal article
Glutathione precursor, N-acetyl-cysteine, improves mismatch negativity in schizophrenia patients
Suzie Lavoie, Micah M Murray, Patricia Deppen, Maria G Knyazeva, Michael Berk, Olivier Boulat, Pierre Bovet, Ashley I Bush, Philippe Conus, David Copolov, Eleonora Fornari, Reto Meuli, Alessandra Solida, Pascal Vianin, Michel Cuenod, Thierry Buclin, Kim Q Do
NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY | NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP | Published : 2008
Abstract
In schizophrenia patients, glutathione dysregulation at the gene, protein and functional levels, leads to N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor hypofunction. These patients also exhibit deficits in auditory sensory processing that manifests as impaired mismatch negativity (MMN), which is an auditory evoked potential (AEP) component related to NMDA receptor function. N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC), a glutathione precursor, was administered to patients to determine whether increased levels of brain glutathione would improve MMN and by extension NMDA function. A randomized, double-blind, cross-over protocol was conducted, entailing the administration of NAC (2 g/day) for 60 days and then placebo for an..
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