|
Antioxidant Improves Pulmonary Fibrosis
Treatment
(HealthDayNews, 11/23/05)
Dr. Maurits Demedts of University Hospital Gasthuisberg,
Leuven, Belgium, and team, assigned 182 patients with
idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis to receive standard drug
treatment plus either 600 mg of N-acetylcysteine or a placebo,
three times daily. The investigators found that after one year
the N-acetylcysteine group exhibited 9% less of a decline in
lung capacity and a 24% smaller deterioration of diffusing
capacity, compared to the placebo group. These findings
suggest that acetylcysteine, an enzyme that acts as an
antioxidant, may prolong the lives of patients with pulmonary
fibrosis.
(The New England Journal of Medicine, Nov.
24, 2005) |
Article Summary