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Abstract #4553

N-Acetylcysteine Supplementation Elevates Human Brain Glutathione In Vivo: A Proof-of-Concept Study using J-edited 1H MRS

Nora Weiduschat1, Xiangling Mao1, Diana Vu2, Michelle Blate2, Guoxin Kang1, Halinder S. Mangat3, Amanda Artis4, Yize Zhao4, Gudrun Lange2, Claire Henchcliffe 3, Benjamin H. Natelson2, and Dikoma C. Shungu1

1Radiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States, 2Neurology, Mount Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, NY, United States, 3Neurology and Neuroscience, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States, 4Healthcare Policy and Research, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States

A prior finding of robust cortical glutathione (GSH) deficits in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and major depressive disorder (MDD) provided a compelling rationale for this pilot study that aimed to assess whether 4 weeks of daily supplements of 1800mg of the GSH synthetic precursor N-acetylcysteine (NAC) would normalize brain GSH in CFS patients, as measured in vivo with J-edited MRS. The study’s main finding was that NAC supplementation significantly increased cortical GSH levels in CFS patients compared to controls, while levels of the antioxidant remained statistically unchanged in controls despite a slight numerical increase.


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