Alpha Lipoic Acid Reduces Symptoms and Inflammation Biomarkers in Patients with Chronic Hemorrhoidal Illness

Abstract

Abstract. Background: Oral dietary supplementation is becoming increasingly popular as an addition to classical approaches for the prevention and treatment of hemorrhoidal disease. Aim: To examine the effect of orally administrated alpha lipoic acid (ALA), known for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, in the treatment of patients with permanent symptoms of hemorrhoidal disease. Methods: Patients with second- and third-degree hemorrhoids (n = 100) were enrolled into a randomized, open label, single-center trial. The study group (n = 50) was treated with 200 mg of orally administered ALA once a day during the 12-week period, the control group (n = 50) did not receive any treatment. Results: There were no significant differences in demographics, diagnosis, or exposure to major risk factors between the study and placebo group at baseline. ALA significantly improved subjective efficacy variables, such as pain and discomfort (p < 0.01) as well as objective signs of the disease, such as bleeding (p < 0.01), in comparison to the control group. Furthermore, the 3-month treatment significantly reduced the number of patients with positive C-reactive protein (CRP) value (serum CRP > 5 mg/L) from 18% before to only 2% after the treatment (χ2 = 4.65; p < 0.01). Average leukocyte count has also been significantly reduced in the treatment group (p < 0.01) from 7.29 × 109/L before to 6.18 × 109/L after treatment. Conclusions: The obtained results indicate that ALA is effective in the treatment of second- and third-degree hemorrhoids. Larger, double-blind controlled trials are needed to confirm the results and to investigate optimal treatment regimens.

Effect of Alpha-Lipoic Acid Supplementation on Low-Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesions—Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial

“…Alpha lipoic acid (ALA), also known as 1,2-dithiolane-3-pentanoic acid, thioctic acid, or its reduced form—dihydrolipoic acid, are potent nutritional antioxidants and perform pleiotropic actions on different pathways linked to numerous diseases, including direct antiradical activity or modulating the signalling transduction of several pathways (such as insulin and nuclear factor kappa B (NFkB)). It is, therefore, used as a potential therapeutic agent in diabetic neuropathy, brain disease and cognitive dysfunction, cardiovascular diseases, endothelial dysfunction, hemorrhoidal illness, obesity and cancer [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ]. The majority of clinical studies conducted so far were focused on its antioxidant activity and potential effectiveness in diabetic neuropathy, Alzheimer’s disease and cancer [ 18 ].…”

Effect of Alpha Lipoic Acid Supplementation on Oxidative Stress and Lipid Parameters in Women Diagnosed with Low-Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesions (LSILs): A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial

“…Recent meta-analyses of clinical research also showed that supplementation with ALA for 2–48 weeks can modestly reduce body weight by 0.7–2.3 kg and body mass index (BMI) by up to 0.5 kg/m 2 when compared with placebo in overweight individuals or patients with obesity [ 7 ]. Smaller studies indicate that ALA might be useful in the treatment of other diseases such as hemorrhoidal disease [ 8 ], Alzheimer disease [ 9 ] and male infertility [ 10 ].…”