This is good news, the fact that alpha-lipoic acid can inhibit HIV replication although in terms of the number of years that have passed since the initial discovery was made, it could be considered a bit old. On the other hand, not many appear to know about it. So even twenty years later, for the majority of physicians and patients it will actually be news, even though some sites informing about integrative approaches to treat human autoimmune deficiency obviously already have addressed the role that alpha-lipoic acid supplementation can indeed play. For example, in a Canadian site (www.catie.ca) where it states correctly that, “Studies have shown that alpha-lipoic acid can also recycle glutathione, which may help improve the body’s own antioxidant defenses.” Which is an important point for anyone suffering from the effects of HIV, as ALA-supplementation consequently could be of general benefit for treating some of the symptoms connected with AIDS.
One of these benefits is in increasing liver protection, as, again, the Canadian site quoted above, aptly points out that the liver “Produces many free radicals and is an organ that normally has large stores of glutathione. If the number of free radicals overwhelms the body’s natural protection system, the liver may become damaged. Alpha-lipoic acid has been used to treat liver poisoning due to alcohol, mushrooms and heavy metals… Test-tube studies demonstrating ALA’s antioxidant abilities and its role in glutathione recycling have encouraged its use in order to protect the liver. According to nutritionist Lark Lands, several people with HIV have experienced an improvement in liver function thanks to alpha-lipoic acid.”
There are other benefits that have been observed: in the treatment of peripheral neuropathy due to the intake of some HIV-drugs; in the treatment of lipoid dystrophy; and in the treatment of HIV related dementia. However, much of the evidence remains anecdotal. To some that may mean, it is questionable. Whereas others will feel encouraged. After all, single or double blind studies can very well be regarded as just another ’sacred cow’; and like any other ‘sacred cow’ much less useful, or much more detrimental than proclaimed.
The main benefit, however, is in ALA’s slowing down of HIV replication. This was first proven in a small study done in Germany in the late 1980s and published in Springer’s “Klinische Wochenschrift” in 1991, by a group of physicians headed by Professor A. Baur of the University of Erlangen-Nuernberg. They described the idea behind their study as follows,
“Alpha-lipoic acid, a naturally occurring disulfide-compound that acts as cellular coenzyme, has been applied for years in the treatment of poly-neuropathies and hepatic disorders. The drug can be given over longer periods with only few side effects and it penetrates into most cell types, including lymphoid and neuronal cells. Other compounds… have also been shown to inhibit the replication of HIV in cell culture. However, these drugs are probably not useful for a continued application in HIV-infected individuals because of adverse side effects, or have not been given to HIV-patients in a clinical trial so far. Investigating if alpha-lipoic acid reveals similar effects on HIV, we found that the compound clearly inhibits virus replication in cultured lymphoid T-cells.”
The summary states that in the trial,
“Alpha-lipoic acid was added sixteen hours after the T-cell lines had been infected with… a wild type HIV-1 isolate. We observed a dose-dependant inhibition HIV-1 replication in cytopathic effect formation, reverse transcriptase activity, and plaque formation on CD-4 transformed HeLa-cells. An over 90% reduction of reverse transcriptase activity could be achieved with 70 µg alpha-lipoic acid/ml, a complete reduction of plaque-forming units at concentrations of ≥35µg alpha-lipoic acid/ml. An augmentation of the anti-viral activity was seen by a combination of zidovudine (a type of anti retroviral drug commonly known as AZT) and a low dose of alpha-lipoic acid (7 µg alpha-lipoic acid/ml). Therefore, we propose the inclusion of alpha-lipoic acid into chemotherapy trials in combination with zidovudine (AZT).” The full text of the study is available for downloading through www.springerlink.com.
Inspired by the German study, Lester Packer of the Department of Molecular & Cell Biology of the University of Berkeley, California researched exactly how alpha-lipoic acid inhibits HIV replication. He looked into the matter because Baur’s study only discovered the fact of ALA’s inhibition of HIV replication, but not the mechanisms whereby it succeeded to do so. Packer then discovered that alpha-lipoic acid can play an important role in gene regulation, or in other words, in maintaining a normal gene and cell structure and function versus diseased gene and cell structure. He published his findings an issue of the journal of “Free Radical Biology & Medicine” in August 1995. It is now available as a PDF download through www.sciencedirect.com.