Current trends and future prospects of N-acetylcysteine utilizations in Parkinson’s disease: A literature network analysis

Abstract

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a prevalent neurodegenerative disorder without a definitive cure. Oxidative stress is significantly implicated in its pathogenesis, prompting interest in N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a strong antioxidant and cysteine precursor, as a potential therapeutic agent. We conducted a bibliometric analysis of 421 Scopus articles to assess current trend and future potential of research on the use of NAC in Parkinson’s disease. The number of publications related to this topic reached the peaked in 2010 and gradually decreased afterward. We identified 4 main clusters of research theme related to the potential mechanism of NAC effects on Parkinson’s disease progression. These include research focusing on NAC effects on oxidative stress, dysfunction of the mitochondria, aberrant protein accumulation and clearance and inflammation. Investigating NAC effect for Parkinson’s disease in human is a potential research area.