This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

Here's an interesting paper on lipoic acid. Although it's not MS (Parkinson's Disease), R-lipoic acid combined with acetyl-L-carnitine was found to be 100 to 1000 more effective than either alone in protecting mitochondria in a cellular Parkinson's Disease model.


Combined R-alpha-lipoic acid and acetyl-L-carnitine exerts efficient preventative effects in a cellular model of Parkinson's disease.
J Cell Mol Med. 2008 Jun 20.

Mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative damage are highly involved in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). Some mitochondrial antioxidants/nutrients that can improve mitochondrial function and/or attenuate oxidative damage have been implicated in PD therapy. However, few studies have evaluated the preventative effects of a combination of mitochondrial antioxidants/nutrients against PD, and even fewer have sought to optimize the doses of the combined agents. The present study examined the preventative effects of two mitochondrial antioxidant/nutrients, R-alpha-lipoic acid (LA) and acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC), in a chronic rotenone-induced cellular model of PD. We demonstrated that 4-week pretreatment with LA and/or ALC effectively protected SK-N-MC human neuroblastoma cells against rotenone-induced mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative damage, and accumulation of alpha-synuclein and ubiquitin. Most notably, we found that when combined, LA and ALC worked at 100 to 1000 fold lower concentrations than they did individually. We also found that pretreatment with combined LA and ALC increased mitochondrial biogenesis and decreased production of reactive oxygen species through the upregulation of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator 1alpha as a possible underlying mechanism. This study provides important evidence that combining mitochondrial antioxidant/nutrients at optimal doses might be an effective and safe prevention strategy for PD.


NHE

Great find. I would love to read the whole article.

Interesting, I give to my wife daily 2 caps (each with 500mg Acetyl-L-Carnitine, 200mg lipoic acid and 20mg Q10) and 2 caps 500mg ALC.

Has anybody read the full article?

I am very interested to know the doses used.

Thanks

Here's a link to the full article:

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi- ... 1/PDFSTART

The study wasn't done in people, or even mice, it was done using a cellular model, so the dosage is probably not even applicable.

I take alcar 1000 mg twice a day and add ALA to it. The ALCAR causes me to have about 30% longer workout time at the gym before getting totally stumbling. I like it......... I did clear it with my doc
marie

Thanks Dignan, I agree it is difiult to extrapolate the findings. However this section caught my attention:

We also showed that when LA and ALC were combined at 0.1 μM each or at 1μM each, they displayed significant preventative effects. However, when they were combined at 10 μM each, no protective effects were observed, and when combined at 10 and 100 μM or at 100 μM each, negative effects occurred (data not shown), though the best doses for LA and ALC alone are 10 and 100 μM, respectively. These data suggested
that simply combining multiple agents at each one’s optimal dosage might be ineffective or counterproductive, again illustrating the necessity of determining optimal doses of the combined agents.

.....................

Although the stated doses are irrelevant; high doses may have a negative impact. Another case of the 'Goldilocks trap'.

Marie it's better to take 2 -4 times per day 500mg ALCAR with ALA as it boosts your energy levels much longer!
I have found many researches in humans where they mention the combined positive effects of ALCAR+ALA although many others claim ALA may be detrimental as it spreads toxic metals from body stores or dental amalgams to vital body!

I know it's been a while since I had originally posted the above research abstract. However, I have recently decided to do a little experiment with acetyl-L-carnitine. I've been taking r-lipoic acid for several years now and thought that I would try adding some acety-L-carnitine. I decided that it would be best to take it mid-day or earlier since it's been reported to help with fatigue. However, the label on the stuff I bought, 750 mg caplets, does not indicate whether or not it should be taken with food or on an empty stomach. Does it matter with this supplement or will food not effect its absorption?

Thanks, NHE

I don't know anything specific for ALCAR, but from my understanding, most amino acids are best taken on an empty stomach.

I just checked my stuff, and it does not have an instruction regarding this either. Its a combination ALCAR & ALA

Here is a video by Dr. Berkson from the LDN 2009 European Conference. Dr. Berkson uses ALA and LDN to treat cancer. In the video he explains the science behind ALA ---- I think you would find this to be informative.

http://glasgowldn2009.com/2009/04/ldn-c ... ce-video3/
http://glasgowldn2009.com/2009/04/ldn-c ... on-video4/

Sharon