The following information is extracted from this website link for your convenience upon recommendation by BB on 2016-07-05, Tuesday.
http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/alphalipoic-acid
Alpha-lipoic acid
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Overview
Alpha-lipoic acid is an antioxidant made by the body. It is found in every cell, where it helps turn glucose into energy. Antioxidants attack "free radicals," waste products created when the body turns food into energy. Free radicals cause harmful chemical reactions that can damage cells, making it harder for the body to fight off infections. They also damage organs and tissues.
Other antioxidants work only in water (such as vitamin C) or fatty tissues (such as vitamin E). But alpha-lipoic acid is both fat and water soluble. That means it can work throughout the body. Antioxidants in the body are used up as they attack free radicals. But evidence suggests alpha-lipoic acid may help regenerate these other antioxidants and make them active again.
In the cells of the body, alpha-lipoic acid is changed into dihydrolipoic acid. Alpha-lipoic acid is not the same as alpha linolenic acid, which is an omega-3 fatty acid that may help heart health. There is confusion between alpha-lipoic acid and alpa linolenic acid because both are sometimes abbreviated ALA. Alpha-lipoic acid is also sometimes called lipoic acid.
Diabetes
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Several studies suggest alpha-lipoic acid helps lower blood sugar levels. Its ability to kill free radicals may help people with diabetic peripheral neuropathy, who have pain, burning, itching, tingling, and numbness in arms and legs from nerve damage. Researchers believe Alpha-lipoic acid helps improve insulin sensitivity.
Alpha-lipoic acid has been used for years to treat peripheral neuropathy in Germany. However, most of the studies that have found it helps have used intravenous (IV) alpha-lipoic acid. It's not clear whether taking alpha-lipoic acid by mouth will help. Most studies of oral alpha-lipoic acid have been small and poorly designed. One study did find that taking alpha-lipoic acid for diabetic neuropathy reduced symptoms compared to placebo.
Taking alpha-lipoic acid may help another diabetes-related condition called autonomic neuropathy, which affects the nerves to internal organs. One study of 73 people with cardiac autonomic neuropathy, which affects the heart, found that subjects reported fewer signs of the condition when taking 800 mg of alpha-lipoic acid orally compared to placebo.
Brain Function and Stroke
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Because alpha-lipoic acid can pass easily into the brain, it may help protect the brain and nerve tissue. Researchers are investigating it as a potential treatment for stroke and other brain problems involving free radical damage, such as dementia. So far, there's no evidence to say whether or not it works.
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http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/alphalipoic-acid
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