A new article published in Diabetes Care took a second look at acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC) as a treatment for neuropathy resulting from diabetes and AIDS. The study concluded that the supplement does not improve nerve conduction velocity (an indicator that the nerves are healing) but that it does provide significant relief in the pain some people experience with neuropathy.
There have been other studies that demonstrated nerve cell regeneration when ALC is combined with alpha lipoic acid (ALA) as a treatment for Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. Other studies have shown, and the practice is widespread in Europe, that ALA can reverse nerve degeneration associated with various forms of neuropathy and can, on its own, regenerate dying nerve cells.
Oxidative stress is one of the primary causes of neuropathies, and both ALA and ALC fight oxidative stress. In particular, ALA raises the body's levels of its most powerful self-defense, glutathione, the master antioxidant. From the Linus Pauling Institute monograph on ALA: "After two years of follow up, those who took either 600 mg/day or 1,200 mg/day of a-lipoic acid orally showed significant improvements in 3 out of 4 nerve conduction assessments compared to those who took placebo." (Reljanovic M, Reichel G, Rett K, et al. Treatment of diabetic polyneuropathy with the antioxidant thioctic acid (alpha-lipoic acid): a two year multicenter randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial (ALADIN II). Alpha Lipoic Acid in Diabetic Neuropathy. Free Radic Res. 1999;31(3):171-179. (PubMed)).
The best treatment for neuropathy is not the administration of pain killers or other pharmaceuticals, but rather the use of two over-the-counter supplements. However, the government, bolstered by its recent banning of ephedra and pro-hormones (both of which are harmless in adults when used as directed), is now going after all supplements. There may be a time in the near future when ALA and ALC are no longer available except by prescription. Any guesses as to who is lobbying for this to happen?
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