Antioxidant helps mouse hearts with fibrosis but not pumping power
N‐acetylcysteine attenuates the development of cardiac fibrosis and remodeling in a mouse model of heart failure
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Reduced fibrosis without improved heart function
Most people assume reducing scar tissue should improve heart performance, but this study shows the opposite—scarring reduction didn't help pumping ability.
Practical Takeaways
Don't rely on NAC supplements for heart health based on this study alone.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Reduced fibrosis without improved heart function
Most people assume reducing scar tissue should improve heart performance, but this study shows the opposite—scarring reduction didn't help pumping ability.
Practical Takeaways
Don't rely on NAC supplements for heart health based on this study alone.
Publication
Journal
Physiological Reports
Year
2016
Authors
Beverly Giam, P. Chu, S. Kuruppu, A. Smith, D. Horlock, H. Kiriazis, Xiaojun Du, D. Kaye, N. Rajapakse
Related Content
Claims (10)
Hepatic glutathione depletion impairs fat metabolism and insulin signaling, leading to inefficient fat processing and blood sugar dysregulation; NAC supplementation restores hepatic glutathione levels, improving liver function and fat metabolism.
Giving the antioxidant NAC to mice with heart failure didn't help their heart's pumping ability improve, even though it reduced some scarring.
Giving mice a specific antioxidant called NAC for 8 weeks made the scarring in their heart blood vessels and tissue about 40-57% less than in mice that didn't get the antioxidant.
The antioxidant NAC made the heart cells in mice with heart failure produce about 42% less of a marker that shows oxidative stress.
Mice with a specific genetic modification that causes heart failure had more than double the scarring in their heart blood vessels and tissue compared to normal mice.