Beneficial effects of N-acetylcysteine in treatment resistant schizophrenia.

Poor response to antipsychotics is still an important problem in the treatment of many schizophrenia patients. N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is a compound that exerts anti-oxidant and scavenging actions against reactive oxygen species. This paper reports a case of poorly responsive schizophrenia patient who improved considerably with add-on NAC 600 mg/day. The NAC might work through activating cysteine-glutamate antiporters or reducing in nitric oxide (NO) metabolites, free radicals and cytokines or through both of these mechanisms.