N-acetylcysteine diminishes injury induced by balloon angioplasty of the carotid artery in rabbits.

The effect of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on preventing or ameliorating the injury associated with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty was investigated in rabbits. Carotid artery angioplasty (CA) was performed on 8 control (vehicle-treated) rabbits and 7 rabbits treated with NAC, 250 mg/kg, administered orally in Nutrical paste for 10 days prior to and 10 days following CA. Single blind histologic evaluation of the angioplasty sites demonstrated a significant reduction in the incidence in vessel: 1) inflammation; 2) endothelial damage; 3) thrombus formation; 4) elastic lamina damage in the NAC rabbits. The percentage of control versus NAC treated animals exhibiting damage in each category were: inflammation: 75% vs 14%; endothelial damage: 88% vs 57%; thrombus formation: 88% vs 43%; laminal damage: 63% vs 14%. The results suggest that NAC treatment may be a valuable therapeutic agent in effectively preventing or reducing angioplasty-induced vessel damage.