Alpha Lipoic Acid for Liver Health

One nutrient that has been the subject of research and which shows promise for liver health is alpha lipoic acid. Alpha lipoic acid (ALA, thioctic acid or pyruvate oxidation factor) is a disulfide compound that was first discovered by University of Illinois enzymologist Irwin Gunsalus in 1948 and described and characterized by University of Texas biochemist Lester J. Reed in March 1951.

It is a natural substance that, according to ALA pioneer Burt Berkson, M.D., in the December 2007 edition of the Townsend Letter, is the “rate-limiting factor for the production of energy from carbohydrates.” In other words, without alpha lipoic acid people could not obtain energy from the food we eat and we could not stay alive.

Although found in trace amounts in nature (e.g., spinach) and made by the body in limited quantities, therefore not considered essential, there are conditions in which ALA is believed to have conditional essentiality, such as with diabetic polyneuropathy. In addition, the modern, industrialized diet is very low in this nutrient and foods in which it is found at higher levels are, in certain countries, not especially popular, such as organ meats.

ALA is a potent antioxidant (relatively both fat- and water-soluble) that recycles other nutrients, such as coenzyme Q-10, vitamin C and vitamin E. In addition, this nutrient chelates heavy metals such as mercury, lead and arsenic, thereby assisting the body in eliminating these toxins.

The first large-scale human clinical studies using alpha lipoic acid in the U.S. were conducted by Berkson, Frederick C. Bartter, M.D., and other scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the 1970s. The researchers gave the nutrient to 79 people with severe liver damage; 75 of those, according to Berkson, recovered full liver function.

More recently, in 1999 Berkson published three case reports using a triple-antioxidant supplement regimen in patients with liver disease, including chronic hepatitis C infection. After several months of treatment with a triple-antioxidant combination of alpha lipoic acid, selenium and silymarin, according to Berkson all three patients recovered most or all of their liver function, avoided liver transplantation and went on to live productive lives free of the symptoms of liver disease.

From 2006 to 2008, a number of studies in humans and animals have shown that alpha lipoic acid can provide important improvements in the following: recovery following liver surgery; protection from chemotherapy side effects and chemical poisoning; liver regeneration; and protection against liver and kidney damage from acetaminophen-containing drugs (e.g., Tylenol, Anacin-3 and Percocet).

Considering that acetaminophen poisoning sends over 56,000 people to emergency rooms each year in the U.S., these study results are all the more noteworthy. In an industrialized society burdened by pollution and toxic chemicals, alpha lipoic acid can provide support to the liver's detoxification mechanisms.

Alpha lipoic acid: critical for good health

By James J. Gormley

[adapted from Gormley’s February 1997 ‘Editor’s Desk’ commentary in Better Nutrition magazine]

What do the American Diabetes Association, the world's top researchers in antioxidants, Mickey Mouse, and I have in common? We were all in Orlando this past November, attending the ADA's 32nd Research Symposium on "The Role of Oxidants and Antioxidant Therapy in Diabetic Complications." Mickey bowed out of the symposium due to contractual obligations with Walt Disney World.

In all seriousness, diabetes (in all its forms) is one of the world's most devastating diseases, manifesting its effects in many ways, including: vision (retinopathy and blindness); nerve function (neuropathy); embryonic development (embryopathy); cardiac function (cardiovascular disease); kidney function (nephropathy); and aging.

Researchers at the symposium presented their studies on how specific antioxidants --- alpha-lipoic acid, vitamin E, vitamin C, protein methionine (an amino acid) --- and others, work together, and separately, to prevent diabetes and diabetes-related cardiovascular disease, and to help those who already suffer from one of these conditions.

Two of the studies involving one of the most promising antioxidants to emerge in recent years --- alpha-lipoic acid (mentioned above) were presented by Dr. Stephen Jacob (of Germany) and Dr. Lester Packer (of UC Berkeley).

Jacob's study ("The Radical Scavenger Alpha-Lipoic Acid Enhances Insulin Sensitivity in Patients With NIDDM: A Placebo-Controlled Trial") was very suggestive for alpha lipoic acid's role in increasing insulin sensitivity in patients with Type II diabetes.

Packer's study followed closely on the heels of two previous ones: his own landmark 1995 study which established alpha lipoic-acid's role as a biological antioxidant ("Alpha-Lipoic Acid As A Biological Antioxidant") and that of M. Podda and H.J. Tritschler from 1994, which established alpha-lipoic's role in preserving and restoring vitamin E ("Alpha Lipoic Acid Supplementation Prevents Symptoms of Vitamin E Deficiency").

Packer's newest research shows how lipoic acid: fights free radicals (directly scavenging hydroxyl, superoxide, nitric oxide, peroxyl radicals, and singlet oxygen); helps avoid cataract formation; improves sugar metabolism/insulin sensitivity; and improves the power of other antioxidants (especially vitamin E).

How does alpha-lipoic acid do what it does? Well, since it's both fat- and water-soluble, it hooks up the actions of fat-soluble vitamins (such as E) and water-soluble (such as C), strengthening the entire antioxidant network. As early as 1959, it was known that alpha-lipoic acid prevented symptoms of vitamin E and vitamin C deficiencies, which was confirmed by Podda in 1994.

What all these studies, and all the studies presented, tell us is how crucial our diets are to maintaining optimal health. In this issue are articles on dietary improvements that can be made to decrease the chances of getting diseases such as heart disease and diabetes (and to improve the health of those who already have them).

This month, let's make a commitment to each let our heart know how much we appreciate it and that we're going to take better care of it. Let's send "Valentines to Our Hearts." Mickey can sign, too.

Antioxidants honored at U.N. Conference

By James J. Gormley

[adapted from Gormley’s July 1996 ‘Editor’s Desk’ commentary in Better Nutrition magazine]

Radicals were under fire at the United Nations on April 29th. Free radicals, that is. The daily and lifespan-limiting effects of these extra-electron wildcards were under attack by a "who's who" of some of the world's most renowned scientists who are researching the only way to combat excess levels of oxidative stress: antioxidants.

Recognizing the poor-nutrition pandemic rampant throughout the industrialized and non-industrialized world, and sensing the urgency with which societies should approach the consideration of public-health and public-food-supply supplementation policies that would address this problem, the Secretariats of the United Nations (U.N.) and the World Health Organization (W.H.O.), with sponsorship from ASTA Medica and the Henkel Corporation, convened the "First Joint Conference on Healthy Ageing."

Since free-radical-caused bodily deterioration, or aging, is associated with people of all ages, but is most dramatically manifested in the elderly, the U.N. and W.H.O. chose to tie this conference in with the upcoming "International Year of Older Persons," which is to be observed throughout 1999.

The list of presenters and topics included: Lester Packer, Ph.D. ("Possible Factors Influencing Aging"); Bruce N. Ames, Ph.D. ("Understanding the Causes of Aging and Cancer"); Jeffrey B. Blumberg, Ph.D. ("Preventive Nutrition: Implications for Optimal Health and Public Policy"); and Hellmut Mehnert, M.D. ("Diabetes Mellitus As a Clinical Model of the Process of Aging").

Alexandre Sidorenko, M.D., Ph.D., the Officer-in-Charge of the U.N.'s "Programme on Aging," described the conference this way:

"This conference reflects the rapidly changing view of how nutrition influences disease and lifespan. These latest research findings from distinguished leaders in the health field will help us to deduce viable policy options of interest to all governments as they strive to enhance the lives of people of all ages."

Some of the most exciting findings presented at the conference centered on alpha-lipoic acid, a vitamin-like compound which, aside from its vital role in regulating the metabolism of blood-sugar levels (helping to prevent the onset of diabetes mellitus), has been found to directly restore vitamin C and glutathione to their antioxidative (reduced) forms and to indirectly restore vitamin E to its beneficial (antioxidative) form.

Are all free radicals bad? No. They're a natural by-product of metabolism and will be with us all of our lives. Keeping excessive levels in check, however, with antioxidant-rich dietary supplementation is crucial to disease prevention, optimal health, and (you guessed it!): healthy aging.

Alpha lipoic acid is an antioxidant that prevents free-radical damage

By James J. Gormley

[adapted from an article that originally appeared in Better Nutrition magazine in January 1996]

Although there have been hundreds of studies over 50 years revealing how lipoic acid energizes metabolism, the new excitement about this vitamin-like substance can be seen in the many recent studies focusing on how it combats free radicals, protects our genetic material, slows aging, helps protect against heart disease, cancer and many other diseases, wrote Richard A. Passwater, Ph.D., in Lipoic Acid: The Metabolic Antioxidant.

"Both insulin-dependent and non-insulin-dependent diabetics will be excited to learn that lipoic acid has been used for nearly 30 years in Europe to treat diabetic neuropathy, help regulate blood sugar and prevent diabetic retinopathy and cardiopathy," Passwater noted.

"Lipoic acid not only protects the nervous system, but also may be involved in regenerating nerves. It is also being studied in the treatment of Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease."

Although we make some lipoic acid in our bodies, it is usually not enough, so we rely on food --- potatoes, red meat, etc. --- to supply only part of what we need. Alpha-lipoic acid supplements are available in health food stores to assure a sufficient intake of the nutrient.

Passwater added that lipoic acid's antioxidant function is of major importance, since antioxidant nutrients help protect the body against the damage that can cause heart disease, cancer, aging and about 80 other diseases. This damage is caused by free radicals, those undesirable byproducts of metabolism.

Boosting Vitamins C & E
Another function of lipoic acid is that it both beneficially interacts with its antioxidant partners --- vitamin E and vitamin C --- and also helps to conserve them. When the body is deficient in lipoic acid, the other antioxidants do not properly network together.

"Lipoic acid has also been used for decades to protect the liver and to detoxify the body of heavy metal pollutants, such as excessive iron and copper and toxic metals such as cadmium, lead and mercury," Passwater continues. "One of the most exciting recent developments is that lipoic acid appears to help slow the progression of HIV-infection to clinical AIDS."

It appears that alpha-lipoic acid, alone or together with vitamin E, is an effective treatment for radiation exposure, lessening indices of oxidative damage and normalizing organ function, according to Lester Packer, Ph.D., in Free Radical Biology and Medicine in 1995. This therapy has been effective in treating children living in areas affected by the Chernobyl accident in the former Soviet Union.

Protection from Cataract Formation
Writing in a previous issue of Free Radical Biology and Medicine, I. Maitra, et aI., reported that, when lab animals were treated with buthionine sulfoximine (BSO), all developed cataracts. But supplementation with lipoic acid protected 60 percent of the BSO-treated animals from cataract formation.

Maitra and colleagues added that concentrations of glutathione, vitamin C and vitamin E, which decrease after BSO administration, were restored to levels similar to the controls. Lipoic acid also restored the protein complexes glutathione peroxidase and catalase, as well as ascorbate free-radical reductase activities, in the lens of the animals.

Hans-J. Tritschler, Ph.D., a well-known researcher of lipoic acid, says that the substance is a very important cofactor for glucose metabolism. And, since it is both fat- and water-soluble, it is the missing link between vitamin E and vitamin C metabolism.

"Since there isn't an overwhelming amount of alpha-lipoic acid in our bodies, an expert panel has recommended 50 rug/day as a preventive measure against diseases caused by free-radical attacks," Tritschler says.

References
Maitra, I., et al. “Alpha-lipoic acid prevents buthionine sulfoximine-induced cataract formation in newborn rats," Free Radical Biology and Medicine 18:823-829, 1995.

Packer, Lester, Ph.D., et al. "Alpha-lipoic acid as a biological antioxidant," Free Radical Biology and Medicine 19:227-250, 1995.

Passwater, Richard A., Ph.D. Lipoic Acid: The Metabolic Antioxidant. New Canaan, Conn.: Keats Publishing, Inc., 1995, pp. 7-8.

Tritschler, Hans-J., Ph.D. Personal interview, Oct. 16, 1995.

Welcome to The Alpha Lipoic Acid Blog!

What is alpha lipoic acid?
Alpha lipoic acid, or ALA, is a powerful antioxidant that, according to ALA pioneer Burt Berkson, M.D., in the December 2007 edition of the Townsend Letter, is the “rate-limiting factor for the production of energy from carbohydrates.” In other words, without alpha lipoic acid people could not obtain energy from the food we eat and we could not stay alive.

Critical for liver health, nerve health, insulin health and brain health, alpha lipoic acid is an important nutrient, one that does not always receive the scientific, media or popular attention it deserves.

This blog will attempt to shine a light on the science, and the promise, of alpha lipoic acid!