Quote:
Originally Posted by albeham
Has anyone heard of this :
- N-Acetyl-Cysteine -- a nutritional supplement available at the health food store or Wimberley Pharmacy, has been shown to prevent or lessen the severity of influenza. I suggest 1200mg, twice a day for adults, and 600mg twice a day in kids over 12. It would be hard to get kids under 12 to take it, but you could try opening the capsules and putting it on yogurt. For 40 pounds and up, 300-600 mg twice a day, for less than 40 pounds, half that. 
How sound is this?
AL |
Here is the latest data on it in "critically ill" patients from
www.medscape.com
N-acetyl-cysteine
"N-acetyl-cysteine, a precursor of glutathione, is a sulfhydryl donor that has been used extensively for preventing hepatocellular damage from acetaminophen toxicity. Due to its detoxifying effects, N-acetyl-cysteine has been studied in critically ill patients.[18] Although intracellular levels of glutathione increased with the administration of N-acetyl-cysteine, there was no difference seen in the total antioxidant potential, length of inotropic support, mechanical ventilation, or length of intensive care unit stay. Some study limitations were noted, including the low dose of N-acetyl-cysteine used (much lower of a dose when compared to the dose used in patients with acetaminophen toxicity).
The use of N-acetyl-cysteine cannot be recommended at this time."
It is a mucolytic that is also used to treat acetaminophen overdoses.
NOTHING I've seen in the legitimate medical literature has any effect on H1N1 (the politically correct term for swine flu) except the prescription antiviral drugs oseltamivir and zanamivir