R-enantiomer of α-lipoic acid. Opportunities and prospects for clinical use

The paper presents an analysis of current literature data on the use of the R-enantiomer of α-lipoic acid as an antihypertensive treatment in patients with hypertension and metabolic syndrome. An analysis of the literature was carried out on its use as an antiinflammatory agent in inflammatory diseases. Currently, a very important aspect of researches is the possibility of using R-α-lipoic acid as a micronutrient and therapeutic agent for the treatment of diabetic polyneuropathy and neurodegenerative diseases, especially Alzheimer’s disease, carbohydrate metabolism disorders and metabolic syndrome. Lipoic acid has now become an important ingredient in multivitamin formulas, anti-aging supplements. R-α-lipoic acid is a metabolic antioxidant, its molecule contains a dithiolane ring in oxidized form, this ring has the ability to cleave with formation of dihydrolipoic acid. And since α-lipoic acid, a physiological form of thioctic acid, is a strong antioxidant that relieves the symptoms of diabetic neuropathy, the literature review analyzed data from various authors on the antioxidant effects of the R-enantiomer of α-lipoic acid and found that it had strong antioxidant effects, and its dose of 300 mg is bioequivalent to 600mg of racemic α-lipoic acid. As presented in a sufficient number of analyzed sources, the biological role of lipoic acid is quite diverse. It is important to determine the exact causal relationship between lipoic acid and its immediate cellular targets. Lipoic acid can have a number of important and diverse physiological effects on the stimulation of neurohormonal function and, thus, indirectly affect multiple cellular signaling pathways in peripheral tissues.