Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina have made an exciting discovery that could change the way we treat pain after surgery.
They found that a drug called N-acetylcysteine, or NAC, can help reduce pain in patients who have had surgery—especially spinal surgery. The best part? NAC is already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for other uses, meaning it’s known to be safe.
The study looked at how NAC affects people who have spine surgery. Usually, patients who go through these surgeries are given opioid painkillers to manage their pain afterward.
While opioids are strong, they can also be dangerous. They carry a risk of addiction and can become less effective the more you use them. That’s why finding new ways to treat pain is so important.
The research team, led by Dr. Sylvia Wilson and Dr. Michael Scofield, wanted to see if NAC could be a better option. Dr. Wilson has long been searching for safer pain treatments, and Dr. Scofield has studied how NAC works in the brain, especially in areas linked to pain and addiction.
In their study, patients who had spinal surgery were given either NAC or a placebo (a harmless saltwater solution) during the procedure. The results were clear: patients who got NAC needed 19% fewer doses of opioid painkillers after surgery.
They also waited longer before asking for their first dose of pain medicine. This means NAC helped relieve their pain for a longer time, even after it left their body.
This is a big deal because it shows that NAC doesn’t just work while it’s in your system—it may help the brain handle pain differently for hours afterward. Dr. Scofield had already seen similar results in earlier research about heroin addiction, where NAC had lasting effects in the brain.
Encouraged by their success, the team is now looking at whether NAC can help patients who have other types of surgery, such as minimally invasive hysterectomies. They want to know if NAC works the same way for different surgeries and if it’s safe and effective for a wider group of people.
Changing the way doctors treat pain won’t happen overnight. It takes lots of research and evidence to convince the medical community. But Dr. Wilson and her team are dedicated to proving that NAC can be a new, safer choice for pain management.
If these findings hold true in more studies, NAC could one day be used regularly to help people recover from surgery with less pain and without relying heavily on opioids. That would be a major improvement in patient care.
For anyone interested in new treatments and ways to manage pain safely, this research offers a hopeful look into the future. More details about the study can be found in the journal Pain Management.
If you care about pain, please read studies about Chronic morphine use for cancer pain may increase bone loss and findings of Scientists find a new hope for chronic pain.
For more about pain, please read studies about What you need to know about diabetes and joint pain and findings of Understanding the connection between liver disease and joint pain.
Copyright © 2025 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
