When people get a special type of bone marrow transplant, giving them a common supplement called NAC twice a day might help protect their liver — in one study, far fewer patients on NAC had high levels of a liver damage marker called bilirubin compared to those who didn’t get it.

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Pro

36

Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (0)

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Community contributions welcome

No supporting evidence found

Contradicting (1)

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Community contributions welcome

36

The effect of N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC) on liver toxicity and clinical outcome after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Case-Control Study

Human

The study gave NAC to patients to protect their liver during a strong chemotherapy, and it helped lower some liver enzymes — but it never checked bilirubin levels, which is what the claim is all about. So we can't say if the claim is true or false.

Gold Standard Evidence Needed

According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.

Source Study

The effect of N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC) on liver toxicity and clinical outcome after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Score: 36

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-26033-z

Similar Assertions

When people get a special type of bone marrow transplant, they take a strong drug called busulfan to wipe out their old blood cells. Giving them a common antioxidant called NAC at a high dose doesn’t change how busulfan works in the body, so it won’t mess up the treatment’s ability to kill bad cells.

36

0

80%

When people get ready for a bone marrow transplant and take a special drug called busulfan, giving them a common supplement called NAC twice a day might help protect their liver — studies show their liver enzymes, which go up when the liver is stressed, often drop back to normal in about 1 in 3 patients who started with high levels.

36

0

74%

Giving a common antioxidant called NAC to patients before a bone marrow transplant doesn't seem to make them any more or less likely to have serious complications like liver damage, rejection, or even death, compared to how patients did in the past without NAC.

36

0

71%