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Review
. 2022 Dec 8;11(12):2420.
doi: 10.3390/antiox11122420.

Alpha-Lipoic Acid as an Antioxidant Strategy for Managing Neuropathic Pain

Max Denisson Maurício Viana  1 , Pedro Santana Sales Lauria  1 , Alyne Almeida de Lima  2 , Luiza Carolina França Opretzka  1 , Henrique Rodrigues Marcelino  1 , Cristiane Flora Villarreal  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Alpha-Lipoic Acid as an Antioxidant Strategy for Managing Neuropathic Pain

Max Denisson Maurício Viana et al. Antioxidants (Basel). .

Abstract

Neuropathic pain (NP) is the most prevalent and debilitating form of chronic pain, caused by injuries or diseases of the somatosensory system. Since current first-line treatments only provide poor symptomatic relief, the search for new therapeutic strategies for managing NP is an active field of investigation. Multiple mechanisms contribute to the genesis and maintenance of NP, including damage caused by oxidative stress. The naturally occurring antioxidant alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) is a promising therapeutic agent for the management of NP. Several pre-clinical in vitro and in vivo studies as well as clinical trials demonstrate the analgesic potential of ALA in the management of NP. The beneficial biological activities of ALA are reflected in the various patents for the development of ALA-based innovative products. This review demonstrates the therapeutic potential of ALA in the management of NP by discussing its analgesic effects by multiple antioxidant mechanisms as well as the use of patented ALA-based products and how technological approaches have been applied to enhance ALA's pharmacological properties.

Keywords: alpha-lipoic acid; antioxidant; neuropathic pain; neuropathy; oxidative stress.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Chemical structure of alpha-lipoic acid (ALA). ALA exists as the levorotatory isomer S-(−)-ALA and the dextrorotatory isomer R-(+)-ALA. Upon reduction, ALA generates dihydrolipoic acid (DHLA). * Carbon chiral center.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effects of alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) on preclinical models of neuropathic pain (NP). In vitro and in vivo studies have provided insights in the mechanisms by which ALA reduces neuronal apoptosis, oxidative stress, and nociceptive signaling in several models of NP. Graphical representations of mouse and spinal cord are adapted with permission from SciDraw.io [95,96].
Figure 3
Figure 3
Summary of patent data on “alpha lipoic acid”, “neuropathic pain”, and “oxidative stress”. (a) Granted patents and patent applications over the years; (b) Legal status of the patents in July, 2022; (c) Most commonly used Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) for patents in alphanumeric order. Heat map shows the frequency of their appearance on the search performed; (d) Description of the 10 most frequently used CPC.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Schematic of the main nanotechnological approaches using alpha-lipoic acid.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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