Effects of alpha-lipoic acid supplementation on inflammation, oxidative stress, and serum lipid profile levels in patients with end-stage renal disease on hemodialysis.
OBJECTIVE
We examined the effects of alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) supplementation on inflammation, oxidative stress, and serum lipid profile levels in hemodialysis (HD) patients.


DESIGN
This was a double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial.


SETTING
The present study involved HD centers in Tabriz, Iran.


PATIENTS
Participants included 63 patients with end-stage renal disease (43 men and 20 women; age range: 22-79 years) undergoing maintenance HD.


INTERVENTION
HD patients were randomly assigned into the supplemented group (n = 31), receiving a daily dose of ALA (600 mg), or a control group (n = 32), receiving placebo for 8 weeks.


MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
High sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), malondialdehyde, total antioxidant status, total cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were measured at baseline and after 8 weeks of supplementation.


RESULTS
At the end of intervention, 11 patients were excluded from the study. HsCRP levels decreased by 18.7% in the supplemented group after 8 weeks of supplementation, and the reduction was significant in comparison with the placebo group (P < .05); this finding was also significant after adjusting for baseline values of hsCRP. The mean malondialdehyde and total antioxidant status levels did not change significantly in the 2 groups during the study. The mean high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations increased significantly in the supplemented group at the end of the study (P < .05); however, this improvement was not statistically significant as compared with the placebo group. No significant alterations were observed in the other lipid profile parameters within each group during the study.


CONCLUSION
ALA supplementation significantly reduced hsCRP levels, which is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease in HD patients.