Benefits for Aids/HIV

AIDS is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which attacks a specific type of white blood cells known as T-lymphocytes. About 20 million people throughout the world are infected with HIV. A massive research effort has produced better treatments, resulting in longer survival and improved quality of life for those with access to the treatments. But there is still no vaccine or cure. The only real defense against AIDS is prevention.

What makes HIV so difficult to control is that it targets and destroys immune cells called t-helper cells, the body's first line of defense against infection. Once these t-cells are decimated the body is vulnerable to a host of infections of diseases. When t-cells are are weakened by HIV, they lose their ability to produce and transport glutathione, a major cellular antioxidant. Once this happens, they succumb to oxidative stress causing further destruction. Not surprisingly, HIV-positive patients have considerably lower glutathione, as well as other antioxidant, levels.

In the test tube, ALA prevents replication of HIV in cultured human cells. There is also evidence that ALA bolsters the antioxidant defenses in HIV-positive people. In one study, lipoic acid (150mg, 3 times daily) was given orally to 12 HIV patients. At the end of 2 weeks, all of the patients had an increase in in blood glutathione levels, and 9 patients had an increase in the number of t-helper cells - a sign that their immune system was stronger.

In vitro, alpha-lipoic acid has been shown to have synergistic effects when combined with AZT, with the combination of the two showing stronger inhibition of HIV replication than either had when used alone. In vitro research done at Kumamoto University in Japan has shown that alpha-lipoic acid significantly depresses both HIV tat gene activity and HIV infectivity, and is active in both acute and chronically infected cells. Other in vitro research done in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California, Berkeley, has shown that alpha-lipoic acid inhibits NF-kappa B activity.

German in vitro research has also shown that alpha-lipoic acid inhibits the infectivity of virus particles and suppresses viral replication, and follow-up in vivo studies by the same researchers showed that it does have antiviral effects in HIV+'s, reducing viral titers just as had been predicted by the in vitro research. Since NF-kappa B is, in essence, an on-off switch for the activation of HIV, and tat inhibition is considered a promising antiviral approach, and anything non-toxic that effectively suppresses viral replication and reduces infectivity is immensely desirable, alpha lipoic acid may be a very important part of a comprehensive antiviral approach.

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurological disorder that destroys cells in the brain. It is the leading cause of dementia, a condition that involves gradual memory loss, decline in the ability to perform routine tasks, disorientation, difficulty in learning, loss of language skills, impairment of judgment, and personality changes. The rate of progression of Alzheimer’s varies from person to person.

Excessive free radicals within our bodies cause a condition known as “oxidative stress”. Oxidative stress and energy depletion are characteristic biochemical hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD), thus antioxidants with positive effects on glucose metabolism such as thiotic (alpha-lipoic) acid should exert positive effects in these patients. Due to this, a study was conducted in which 600 mg alpha-lipoic acid was given daily to nine patients with AD and related dementias in an open study over an observation period of, on average, 337+/-80 days. The treatment led to a stabilization of cognitive functions in the study group, demonstrated by constant scores in two neuropsychological tests.

Despite the fact that this study was small and not randomized, this is the first indication that treatment with alpha-lipoic acid might be a successful 'neuroprotective' therapy option for AD and related dementias.

Hager K, Marahrens A, Kenklies M, Riederer P, Munch G. - Department of Medical Rehabilitation and Geriatrics, Henriettenstiftung, Schwemannstrasse 19, D-30559, Hannover, Germany.

PMID: 11395173 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

It has been demonstrated that free radical damage is one of the leading causes of the symptoms we know as aging. As we get older, the levels of free radicals in our bodies increase, causing a decrease in the efficiency of our cells. This leads to a lack of energy, lower immune system function among other issues.

Not coincidentally, the levels of ALA in our bodies decrease with age as the free radical activity increases. Supplementation with ALA can help reverse this process.

Dr. Tory Hagen at the UC Berkley conducted a study to verify that the free radical levels increased substantially as we age and if that condition could be reversed with supplementation of Alpha Lipoic Acid.

In his study he used 2 groups of rats, one young, and one old. It was determined that the free radical levels were much higher in the older rats. Using video cameras and computers to analyze their movements, he determined that the older rats only moved about and explored their cages one third as much as the younger rats. They were also less active in other ways, expending less energy grooming themselves, etc.

After only two weeks of ALA supplementation they saw a significant decrease in the levels of free radicals and an increase in levels of glutathione similar to those in the younger rats. ALA also wiped out the age associated increase in DNA damage to the heart, bringing levels back to those seen in young animals.

The change could be seen more dramatically in the old animals appearance and in their activity. They doubled the amount of exploring in their cages and also appeared to be otherwise more active than the animals who did not get the ALA supplementation.

Is defined as any malignant growth or tumor caused by abnormal and uncontrolled cell division; it may spread to other parts of the body through the lymphatic system or the blood stream.

Free radical damage can promote the activity of a particular cell protein called NF kappa B. (NF-kB) NF-kB works to promote inflammation and genetic changes that have been linked with the development of cancer. Studies at the University of California at Berkley have found that when cells are bathed in ALA, NF-kB is inhibited thus preventing cell mutations from replicating. Researchers believe that this has significant implications in inhibiting the formation of cancerous tumors.

Cataracts: Cataracts are clumps of protein that collect on the lens of an eye and interfere with vision. Normally, light passes through the lens (the clear tissue behind the pupil) and focuses on the retina. The retina is the light-sensitive layer of the eye that sends visual signals to the brain. A cataract occurs when the normally clear lens becomes cloudy. Most cataracts develop slowly over time and are a natural result of aging.

It is believed that antioxidants may protect the lens against damage caused by free radicals. It is also thought that ALA’s ability to encourage the production of the antioxidant glutathione would help to protect our eyes from developing cataracts. The following study helps to demonstrate this.

In this experiment, one group of newborn rats was given a drug called (BSO) that inhibits production of glutothione. Another group of newborn rats were given BSO along with an injection of lipoic acid. Newborn rats do not open their eyes until the 6th week of life, but from past experiments it was known that when these glutathione-deprived rats did open their eyes, they would all have cataracts. Would lipoic acid protect against cataracts caused by glutathione deficiency? At the end of the 6 weeks all of the rats that were given just the BSO developed cataracts. Yet almost all of the rats that were also given lipoic acid supplementation had remained cataract free. Further testing showed glutathione levels were much higher in eye lens of the rats treated with lipoic acid but severely depleted in those that were not treated with lipoic acid. Maitra et al (1) suggest alpha-lipoic acid's protective effect for BSO-induced cataract formation is probably due to its protective effects on lens antioxidants. The lens antioxidants glutathione, ascorbate, and vitamin E were depleted to 45, 62, and 23% of control levels, respectively, by BSO treatment, but were maintained at 84-97% of control levels when R-alpha-lipoic acid was administered.

Ou P, Nourooz-Zadeh J, Tritschler HJ, Wolff SP. Activation of aldose reductase in rat lens and metal-ion chelation by aldose reductase inhibitors and lipoic acid. Free Radic Res 1996;25:337-346)

Glaucoma: Glaucoma is a slowly progressing disease that causes damage to the eye's optic nerve and can result in blindness. Open-angle glaucoma, the most common form of the disease, affects about three million Americans. It is the leading cause of blindness for African-Americans. Because there are usually no symptoms at first, half of the people with this disease don't know they have it. With early treatment, serious vision loss and blindness can usually be prevented.

A clear fluid flows in and out of the space at the front of the eye, nourishing nearby tissues. Glaucoma causes the fluid to pass through too slowly or to stop draining altogether. As the fluid builds up, the pressure inside the eye increases, causing damage to the optic nerve and vision loss.

Glaucoma and Alpha Lipoic Acid - Forty-five patients with stage I and II open-angle glaucoma (OAG) were administered either 75 mg of alpha-lipoic acid for 2 months or 150 mg for 1 month. A control group of 31 patients with OAG were administered only local hypotensive therapy. The greatest improvement of biochemical parameters (gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase and non-protein SH-groups), visual function, and the coefficient of efficacy of liquid discharge was observed in the patients administered the higher dose of alpha-lipoic acid. Preliminary evidence indicates that 150 mg of alpha lipoic acid, taken daily for one month, significantly improves visual function in people with glaucoma.*

* Filina AA, Davydova NG, Endrikhovskii SN, et al. Lipoic acid as a means of metabolic therapy of open-angle glaucoma. Vestn Oftalmol 1995;111:6-8.

Diabetes Mellitus is a group of chronic diseases associated with abnormally high levels of sugar in the blood. Glucose (sugar) builds up in the bloodstream as a result of the body’s inability to produce insulin (which regulates blood/sugar levels) or the inability of insulin in the body to control sugar levels.

Diabetics suffer from many symptoms and complications. These include, but are not limited to; neurological, vascular, kidney and visual problems. Neuropathy is also a very common chronic problem for diabetics.

For well over 30 years physicians in Germany have been clinically treating Diabetics with ALA. Studies worldwide have shown ALA’s ability to normalize glucose uptake and utilization. In one study, ALA was even shown to prevent diabetes in 70% of the animals tested. In another study type II diabetics were given 500mg of ALA daily and in 10 days saw a 30% increase in insulin stimulated glucose disposal.(2)

Nerve damage or neuropathy affects over 50% of diabetics and is one of its most damaging complications. A study published in “Diabetes Care” has shown that supplementing with ALA can partly restore diabetic nerve function after only four months of high-dose oral treatment.(1)

(1) Nagamatsu, M., et al. "Lipoic acid improves nerve blood flow, reduces oxidative stress and improves distal nerve conduction in experimental diabetic neuropathy." Diabetes Care, 18: 1160-67, 1995.

(2) Jacob S, Henriksen EJ, Tritschler HJ, et al. Improvement of insulin-stimulated glucose-disposal in type 2 diabetes after repeated parenteral administration of thioctic acid. Exp Clin Endocrinol Diabetes 1996;104:284-288.

Benefits for Fat Loss and Muscle Building

Except immediately following your workout, the carbs you eat cause an insulin spike. Using r-ALA, you can channel more of the glucose to the muscle cells instead of the fat cells gaining more lean muscle mass without a concurrent gain in body fat.

Of particular interest to the bodybuilder is the fact that r-ALA enables the muscles to increase the amount of glucose that they absorb from the blood stream by increasing the number of glut-4 transporters on the out-side of the myocites (muscle-cells) by almost 50%. By forcing the glucose and nutrients into both the MUSCLE-cells and the fat-cells, one can use ALA as a nutrient-partitioning agent.

The net result is an increased muscle-gain over the long run with a smaller fat-gain. To give you a quantitative idea, if a person gains 10lbs muscle and 10lbs fat in a bulking cycle w/o ALA. He/she is likely to gain around 14lbs muscle and 6 lbs fat if he/she would have taken ALA.

Congestive heart failure (CHF) occurs when the heart cannot pump out enough blood to meet the needs of the body. Any form of heart disease may lead to CHF, which results in a reduced ability to exercise and in severe cases can impair daily function. CHF is the most common cause of death for people over age 65.

CHF can be the result of any type of heart disease or condition. Some of the causes of CHF include smoking, high-fat diet, excess body weight, alcohol/drug abuse, high sodium intake, flu and pneumonia. Some of the signs and symptoms include shortness of breath, fatigue, exercise intolerance, rust-colored sputum, distended neck veins, cough—especially when waking, excessive nighttime urination and/or excessive protein in the urine, insomnia, nausea, vomiting, anorexia, anxiety and swelling in the extremities.

The damage to the brain after a heart attack is similar to that after a stroke. After a heart attack there is a period of ischemia, or oxygen deprivation, followed by an explosion of free radicals. This explosion greatly exacerbates the injury. In the experiment, a heart attack was simulated by perfusing the beating rat hearts with a solution that did not contain oxygen. After 40 minutes, the solution was changed, this time using one that contained oxygen. From previous experiments it was known that a heart denied oxygen under these circumstances would only have a 20-25% of recovery to beat normally, the rest would suffer serious or fatal damage. When lipoic acid was added to the solution, the results changed dramatically. Recovery rate rose to nearly 60%. Follow up studies showed the rats that had been fed lipoic acid had much greater protection against free radical damage than the untreated animals.

Oxidative stress has been implicated as a causal factor in the aging process of the heart and other tissues. Cardiac cells isolated from old rats showed a nearly threefold increase in the rate of oxidant production compared to young rats. Determination of myocardial antioxidant status revealed a significant twofold decline in the levels of ascorbic acid as well as a significant age-related increase in levels of oxidative DNA damage. To investigate whether dietary supplementation with (R)-alpha-lipoic acid was effective at reducing oxidative stress, young and old rats were fed a diet with or without ALA for 2 week.. Cardiac cells from old, ALA-supplemented rats exhibited a markedly lower rate of oxidant production that was no longer significantly different from that in cells from unsupplemented, young rats. Lipoic acid supplementation also restored myocardial ascorbic acid levels and reduced oxidative DNA damage. Our data indicate that the aging rat heart is under increased oxidative stress, which is significantly reduced by lipoic acid supplementation.

Suh JH, Shigeno ET, Morrow JD, Cox B, Rocha AE, Frei B, Hagen TM. - Linus Pauling Institute, Department of Biochemistry, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA

Alpha-Lipoic Acid has been used successfully for the maintenance of liver health and as a treatment for several toxin-related illnesses. Alpha-Lipoic acid has been used extensively in Europe for years as a non-toxic nutrient to treat various chemical overdoses such as mushroom poisoning, radiation poisoning and alcoholic hepatitis.

It has also been used to treat elevated liver enzymes. Elevated liver enzymes, which can indicate liver damage, can be a serious problem for people with life threatening diseases. For people who take oral medications such as antibiotics and/or anti-virals, balanced liver enzymes are essential for these drugs to get metabolized properly. Unfortunately, these same drugs can cause increased liver enzymes. Alpha-Lipoic acid may help protect the liver so that you can take certain drugs.

Another benefit of Alpha-Lipoic acid may be its ability to elevate the levels of glutathione (GSH). Low levels of glutathione may cause oxidative stress, and cause inflammation and damage organs. Glutathione latches on to toxins and makes them water-soluble enough to be flushed out through your kidneys. “The quickest way to rid the liver of toxins is to stimulate glutathione production,” says Savant Mehta, MD, director of the liver-transplant program at the University of Massachusetts

One of the most common complications of diabetes is diabetic neuropathy. The high blood sugar levels in diabetics can cause damage to the arteries that supply the nerves with blood and often damage to the sheath protecting the nerves. This results in numbness, pins and needles, burning sensation and pain.

Though many studies had been conducted overseas using ALA to treat diabetic patients, the Mayo Clinic recently conducted a study with a Russian medical center to test ALA’s ability to help specifically with diabetic neuropathy.

Half of the patients received five treatments a week consisting of 600 mg of alpha lipoic acid in intravenous form, while the others got a placebo. In just 2½ weeks, the alpha lipoic acid patients reported -- and the researchers noted in examinations -- dramatic improvements in symptoms, including a six-point drop in pain levels on a 10-point scale. "But it didn't act only as a pain medication," says researcher and Mayo Clinic neurologist Peter Dyck, MD. "Alpha lipoic acid seems to actually change the metabolism of the nerve or blood supply to the nerve, and we noted some relief in symptoms."

His study, reported in the March issue of Diabetes Care, involved 120 patients with the most common form of diabetic neuropathy, which causes pain, numbness, and a burning sensation and often leads to foot problems.

Recently, Dr. Dan Ziegler and Dr. F. Arnold Gries at Heinrich Heine University in Dusselfdorf had more exciting news to report about lipoic acid. They found that treatment with lipoic acid actually stimulated the regeneration of nerve fibers in diabetics. In less than three weeks of treatments, patients taking 600mg of lipoic acid daily experienced a significant reduction in pain and numbness associated with neuropathy.

Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a disorder of the central nervous system that affects between one and one-and-a-half million Americans. Clinically, the disease is characterized by a decrease in spontaneous movements, gait difficulty, postural instability, rigidity and tremor. PD may appear at any age, but it is uncommon in people younger than 30, and the risk of developing it increases with age.

Oxidative stress appears to play an important role in neuronal degeneration associated with PD (Beal. 1992; Burke, 1998; Adams et al.. 2001; Sayreet al., 2001). The depletion of glutathione (GSH) in the brain is the earliest know indicator of oxidative stress in presymptomatic PD. (Jenner, 1993). Studies using both in vitro and in vivo models have suggested that pretreatment with R-Lipoic acid increases cellular levels of GSH, probably by preventing its depletion thereby protecting mitochondrial integrity (Suzuki et al., 1991; Scott et al., 1994; Hanet al., 1997; Xu and Wells, 1996; Lykkesfeldt et al., 1998; Kagen et al., 1992).

R-lipoic acid administration has been reported to result in increased ambulatory activity and improved memory in aged animals and to partially restore age-associated mitochondrial decay in both the liver and heart.

Results with previous studies suggest that R-Lipoic acid may be an effective neuroprotective agent in age-associated neurodegeneration. Utilizing the PC 12 cell model system, we propose that R-Lipoic acid administration could be an effective way of circumventing or delaying mitochondrial dysfunction associated with PD.

Treatment with R-Lipoic acid alone seems to significantly increase GSH levels only in whole cell preparations but not in mitochondrial extracts. However, pretreatment of cells with R-Lipoic acid appears to prevent BSO-mediated GSH depletion in both whole cells and mitochondria. Decreases in mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase activity associated with GSH depletion also appear to be preserved via R-Lipoic acid pretreatment.

Exposure to radiation causes a cascade of free radicals that wreak havoc on the body. Radiation decimates the body's supply of glutathione, which allows free radicals to run rampant through our body's tissues and organs. Several antioxidant compounds have been used to treat radiation damage with varying degrees of effectivness.

Researchers at the Russian Institute of Pediatric Hematology and the Vitamin Research Institute in Moscow have found that lipoic acid is one of the most effective anti-radiation treatments to date.

When mice are exposed to high levels of radiation, only 35% of them will survive. Lipoic acid is so powerful that if animals are treated with lipoic acid before exposure, survival rates rise to 90%. In the near meltdown of the nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine in 1986 radioactive fallout and massive soil contamination caused those who lived in Chernobyl to be exposed to constant low levels of radiation. Not surprisingly, the incidence of cancer is much higher than normal there, especially among children.

Researchers examined the effects of lipoic acid treatment on the level of oxidative damage in children living in the areas affected by the accident. After 28 days of lipoic acid supplements, they found that the children's blood peroxidation levels had fallen to those seen in normal children. Even better, the children's liver and kidney functions were normalized

A stroke occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is suddenly interrupted due to the presence of a blood clot (ischemic stroke) or when a blood vessel in the brain bursts (hemorrhagic stroke). Brain cells die when they no longer receive oxygen and nutrients from the blood or when they are damaged by sudden bleeding into or around the brain. It is during this time that there is an explosion of free radicals throughout the affected area. This results in temporary or permanent neurological damage. Ischemic stroke, also known as cerebral infarction, accounts for 80 percent of all strokes, while hemorrhagic stroke accounts for the other 20 percent. An estimated 550,000 people in the United States suffer a stroke each year, making this one of the most serious of all health problems. Half of stroke sufferers are left disabled, with many undergoing years of rehabilitation.

In one experiment, strokes were induced in laboratory rats by blocking the carotid artery, which delivers blood and oxygen to the brain for 30 minutes. After blood flow was restored, the animals were monitored for 24 hours. Once oxygen was restored, there was a burst in the production of free radicals, overwhelming the brain's antioxidant defenses. This proved deadly as 80% of the rats died within 24 hours. In the follow up experiment, everything was the same except this time lipoic acid was injected into the rats just before blood flow to the brain was restored. After 24 hours, only 25% of the rats had died and the survivors were no worse for wear, recovering completely.

Follow up studies showed that the animals not treated with lipoic acid showed a substantial increase in free radical related damage to the brain but not for the ones who were treated with lipoic acid. Their brains were normal, as if they had not had a stroke at all. Further testing showed that in the non-treated animals, glutathione levels had plummeted after the stroke, causing the antioxidant defenses to be wiped out while the animals treated with lipoic acid had glutathione levels that were quite high, a sign that they were able to successfully fight attack from free radicals.