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The Use of N-Acetylcysteine as a Chelator for Metal Toxicity

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The Therapeutic Use of N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) in Medicine

Abstract

In this chapter, the effects of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) as a chelator of heavy metals are examined. In a systematic review to identify studies, NAC was shown to chelate toxic metals in 33 animal studies. Metals that were removed in these studies included mercury, lead, cadmium, aluminum, arsenic, and gold. Fifteen human studies were identified. These studies reported no significant adverse effects and no effects on essential metals. Metals removed in these human studies included mercury, lead, gold, and arsenic. However, because of the preliminary nature of these studies, the overall rating was C due to limited evidence, although one double-blind placebo-controlled study using NAC in human lead exposure was promising. The use of NAC as a chelator of heavy metals appears to be a promising area of medical research and further clinical studies to verify these preliminary findings are warranted.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rossignol Medical Center, Aliso Viejo, CA, USA

    Daniel A. Rossignol

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  1. Daniel A. Rossignol
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix Children’s Hospital, University of Arizona, College of Medicine – Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ, USA

    Richard Eugene Frye

  2. IMPACT SRC, Deakin University & Barwon Health, Geelong, VIC, Australia

    Michael Berk

1 Electronic Supplementary Material

Online Table 10.1

Mercury chelation studies using NAC (DOCX 16 kb)

Online Table 10.2

Lead chelation studies using NAC (DOCX 16 kb)

Online Table 10.3

Gold chelation studies using NAC (DOCX 15 kb)

Online Table 10.4

Arsenic chelation studies using NAC (DOCX 14 kb)

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Rossignol, D.A. (2019). The Use of N-Acetylcysteine as a Chelator for Metal Toxicity. In: Frye, R., Berk, M. (eds) The Therapeutic Use of N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) in Medicine. Adis, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5311-5_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5311-5_10

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  • Publisher Name: Adis, Singapore

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  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-5311-5

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