N-Acetylcysteine as an Alternative Treatment in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): A Mini-Review

Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by social skill and communication disability, accompanied by repetitive behavior that interferes with the individual’s verbal and non-verbal communication. An up-growing number of researches have put to evidence that ASD physiopathology is related with metabolic and glutamatergic transmission in the vertebrate brain alterations, which are directly affected by oxidative stress levels. The purpose of the present work was to perform a bibliographic survey about the potential application of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) as an alternative treatment for the behavioral disorders present in autism. As results, we observed that NAC emerges as a potentially prospective treatment in autism as a consequence of its capacity to decrease patient’s irritability when compared to other conventional treatments.