Alpha-lipoic acid for diabetic neuropathy.Four hundred forty-three patients with chronic painful neuropathy neuropathy Disorder of the peripheral nervous system. It may be genetic or acquired, progress quickly or slowly, involve motor, sensory, and/or autonomic (see autonomic nervous system) nerves, and affect only certain nerves or all of them. were treated with 600 mg per day of alphalipoic acid (ALA) for a mean period of five years. ALA was then stopped, and 293 patients were switched to gabapentin (600-2400 mg per day), while 150 patients remained untreated because they had no current symptoms. In the untreated group, 110 patients (73%) developed neuropathic neuropathic /neu·ro·path·ic/ (-path´ik) pertaining to or characterized by neuropathy. neuropathic pertaining to disease of the nervous system. symptoms as soon as two weeks after the end of treatment with ALA. Comment: ALA has been reported to decrease oxidative stress oxidative stress, n an imbalance of the prooxidant antioxidant ratio in which too few antioxidants are produced or ingested or too many oxidizing agents are produced. and to prevent glycosylation of proteins (an early step in the formation of advanced glycation end products). Treatment with ALA has also been found to improve microcirculation microcirculation /mi·cro·cir·cu·la·tion/ (-sir?ku-la´shun) the flow of blood through the fine vessels (arterioles, capillaries, and venules).microcirculato´ry mi·cro·cir·cu·la·tion n. in patients with diabetic neuropathy Diabetic Neuropathy Definition Diabetic neuropathy is a nerve disorder caused by diabetes mellitus. Diabetic neuropathy may be diffuse, affecting several parts of the body, or focal, affecting a specific nerve and part of the body. . Each of these effects of ALA would be expected to be of value for the prevention or treatment of diabetic neuropathy. Numerous clinical trials have found that ALA decreases symptoms in patients with diabetic neuropathy, but these trials have generally been short term (three weeks to four months. The results of the present study suggest that the beneficial effects of ALA persist for up to five years with continued treatment. Ruessmann HJ. Switching from pathogenetic treatment with alpha-lipoic acid to gabapentin and other analgesics Analgesics Definition Analgesics are medicines that relieve pain. Purpose Analgesics are those drugs that mainly provide pain relief. in painful diabetic neuropathy: a real-world study in outpatients. J Diabetes Complicat. 2009;23:174-177. by Alan R. Gaby, MD drgaby@earthlink.net |
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