Does Alpha-Lipoic Acid Comsumption Improve Lipid Profile In Patients With Stroke? A Randomized, Double Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial

Abstract

Background: Having a stroke, which is a devastating condition, is a major cause of deaths worldwide and is also accountable for long time disability with high personal and social cost in adults. Hyperlipidemia plays an important role in atherothrombosis, which is the precursor to stroke. One way for decreasing the risk of a stroke is treatment of dyslipidemia. Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) is aneight-carbon,sulfur-containingcompoundwith antioxidant propertiesandeffective in protecting against hypercholesterolemia and hepatic fat accumulation. Objectives: We designed this trial to scrutinize the possible effects of ALAconsumptiononlipid profiles in patientswhoexperienced a stroke. Methods: In this randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, 67 patients who experienced a stroke were randomly allocated into 2 groups (taking a 600mgALA supplement or placebo daily for 12 weeks). The triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), LDL-cholesterol (LDL), and HDL-cholesterol (HDL) were measured and LDL-cholesterol/HDL-cholesterol (LDL/HDL) as well as total cholesterol/HDL-cholesterol (TC/HDL) were calculated before and after intervention in this study. Dietary intake and statistical analyses were carried out using the N4 and SPSS16 software, respectively. Results: Primary features were similar in the intervention and placebo groups (P<0.05). After the intervention period, serum levels of TG (123.21 +/- 49.63 vs. 152.97 +/- 58.83) (P < 0.001), TC (148.67 +/- 37.71 vs. 174.35 +/- 36.86) (P < 0.001), and LDL (85.09 +/- 23.81 vs. 107.56 +/- 31.73) (P = 0.002) decreased, and HDL level (58 +/- 9.33 vs. 42.97 +/- 8.07) (P < 0.001) increased significantly in ALA group compared with the placebo. In addition, LDL/HDL (P < 0.001) and TC/HDL (P < 0.001) reduced significantly. Conclusions: Results of this trial indicated that 12 weeks of supplementation with 600 mg alpha-lipoic acid has beneficial effects on lipid profile (TG, TC, LDL, HDL, LDL-/HDL, and TC/HDL) in patients who have experienced a stroke.