Inflammation and oxidative stress
N-acetylcysteineand High-sensitivity CRP
Two sources here, and they say different things: one measured lower high-sensitivity CRP and one found no clear difference.
How sure anyone can be
Low certainty, level 2 of 4Further research is likely to change this.
The most certain of the two findings here; each record carries its own.
The numbers reported
One source’s range, drawn against its own line of no difference and scaled to its own numbers.
-0.52-0.1 standardised effect size0.32
This range crosses the no-difference line, so these numbers fit a real difference and no difference at all equally well.
Two sources, newest first
We do not pick between these or average them into one number.
What we read is the published abstract, not the full paper, so a blank below may still be printed in the paper itself. A fixed rule worked this out from the source’s own fields. Nobody checked this rating by hand.
Systematic review, 2020
Low certainty, level 2 of 4The effects of N-acetylcysteine on inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers: A systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials.
Eur J Pharmacol. 2020;884:173368. doi:10.1016/j.ejphar.2020.173368. PMID:32726657.
- Number reported
- -0.1 standardised effect size
- Which way it went
- No clear difference
- Likely range
- -0.52 to 0.32
- Source’s own words
- standardised mean difference in CRP vs control
- Who was studied
- Adult
- Compared with
- placebo or control
- Amount taken
- Not in the abstract
- For how long
- Not in the abstract
- Disagreement between studies
- Not in the abstract
- Kind of record
- Journal article
How this rating was reachedstarts at High, 2 steps down: indirectness and imprecision
- Starts at High
- Indirectness brought it down to Moderatethe outcome measured is a proxy for the target outcomeReported in the abstract
- Imprecision brought it down to Lowthe confidence interval includes no effectReported in the abstract
- Ends at Low2 steps down.
- Checked, nothing to step it down for
- risk of bias
- Inconsistency
- No disagreement reported, and no count of studies behind it
Imprecision stops at the first check that applies; others may apply too.
AI-reviewed & signed — an AI agent re-read this finding against the saved source and checked that the quote, the numbers, the units and the direction match it. No person read it. The owner authorised the agent to sign the batch with the owner's key, and every build rechecks that signature against these exact bytes.
Systematic review, 2020
Very low certainty, level 1 of 4The effects of N-Acetylcysteine on serum level of inflammatory biomarkers in adults. Findings from a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.
Cytokine. 2020;135:155239. doi:10.1016/j.cyto.2020.155239. PMID:32799012.
- Number reported
- -0.61 mg/L
- Which way it went
- Lower
- Likely range
- -1.18 to -0.03
- Source’s own words
- mg/L CRP weighted mean difference vs control
- Who was studied
- Adult
- Compared with
- placebo or control
- Amount taken
- 400 to 2,000 mg/d
- For how long
- 7 to 560 days
- Disagreement between studies
- I2 = 79.6%
- Kind of record
- Journal article
How this rating was reachedstarts at High, 4 steps down: risk of bias, indirectness, imprecision and inconsistency
- Starts at High
- Risk of bias brought it down to Moderatethe abstract reports no risk-of-bias or quality appraisal, so study limitations cannot be ruled outNot in the abstract
- Indirectness brought it down to Lowthe outcome measured is a proxy for the target outcomeReported in the abstract
- Imprecision brought it down to Very lowthe abstract does not state how many participants were pooledNot in the abstract
- Inconsistency — already at Very low, the lowest rungheterogeneity across pooled studies is high (I² = 79.6%)Reported in the abstract
- Ends at Very low4 steps down.
Imprecision stops at the first check that applies; others may apply too.
AI-reviewed & signed — an AI agent re-read this finding against the saved source and checked that the quote, the numbers, the units and the direction match it. No person read it. The owner authorised the agent to sign the batch with the owner's key, and every build rechecks that signature against these exact bytes.
What is still missing from these readings
- Two do not say how many people took part.
- Amount taken — One of Two readings: Not in the abstract.
- For how long — One of Two readings: Not in the abstract.
Something nobody wrote down is never a zero and never a guess.
Still to read for N-acetylcysteine
Seven of the 18 things on our list for N-acetylcysteine have no reading here yet:
- Alanine aminotransferase (ALT)
- Aspartate aminotransferase (AST)
- Cycling Functional Threshold Power
- Cycling Power
- Diastolic blood pressure
- HOMA-IR
- Systolic blood pressure
Still to read means nobody here has got to it, not that it was tried and did nothing or that no research exists. A pairing on no list is not a gap: we never set out to read it.
Read next
N-acetylcysteine
Ten other questions read for it
Inflammation and oxidative stress
37 questions read under it
High-sensitivity CRP
Nine other ingredients read against it
First six, alphabetical, and by nothing else. The rest are on Inflammation and oxidative stress.
This is a library, not advice. No recommendation, no dose, no diagnosis, no ranking. We never ask about your symptoms, and nothing here is tailored to you.