Changes in Resting-State Functional Connectivity and Cognitive-Affective Symptoms in Patients With Post-Concussion Syndrome Treated With N-Acetyl Cysteine.

Objective: Concussion accounts for more than 80% of people experiencing traumatic brain injury. Acute concussion is associated with characteristic cognitive and functional deficits that may persist for weeks to months. A subgroup of these patients (from 10% to 50%) have persistent symptoms referred to as chronic post-concussion syndrome (PCS). There are limited treatment options for these patients and the pathophysiology is poorly understood, though oxidative stress is thought to be a contributing factor. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether an antioxidant, N-acetylcysteine (NAC), might be beneficial in patients with PCS.

Setting: Outpatient medicine center.

Participants: Fifty patients with chronic PCS for at least 3 months post injury.

Design: The patients with PCS were enrolled in this randomized unblinded clinical trial to receive the antioxidant NAC as a combination of daily oral and weekly intravenous infusions, or assigned to a waitlist control group where they would continue to receive standard of care.

Main measures: Resting-state functional connectivity (FC) magnetic resonance imaging (rsFC-MRI) was performed pre and post either NAC or the waitlist period along with cognitive, emotional, and sensory symptom assessments.

Results: The results demonstrated significant (P < .05) improvements in symptoms as determined by the Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire, Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Profile of Mood Scale in the PCS group receiving NAC as compared to patients receiving ongoing standard care. Importantly, there were significant (P< .01) changes in FC in the NAC group, particularly in networks such as the default mode network, salience network, and executive control network. These changes in FC also correlated with improvements in symptoms.

Conclusions: In patients with chronic PCS, NAC treatment was associated with significant changes in resting state FC and improvement in a variety of symptoms, particularly cognitive and affective symptoms.