Viana Max Denisson Maurício, Lauria Pedro Santana Sales, Lima Alyne Almeida de, Opretzka Luiza Carolina França, Marcelino Henrique Rodrigues, Villarreal Cristiane Flora
School of Pharmacy, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador 40170290, BA, Brazil.
Gonçalo Moniz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Salvador 40296710, BA, Brazil.
Antioxidants (Basel). 2022 Dec 8;11(12):2420. doi: 10.3390/antiox11122420.
Neuropathic pain (NP) is the most prevalent and debilitating form of chronic pain, caused by injuries or diseases of the somatosensory system. Since current first-line treatments only provide poor symptomatic relief, the search for new therapeutic strategies for managing NP is an active field of investigation. Multiple mechanisms contribute to the genesis and maintenance of NP, including damage caused by oxidative stress. The naturally occurring antioxidant alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) is a promising therapeutic agent for the management of NP. Several pre-clinical in vitro and in vivo studies as well as clinical trials demonstrate the analgesic potential of ALA in the management of NP. The beneficial biological activities of ALA are reflected in the various patents for the development of ALA-based innovative products. This review demonstrates the therapeutic potential of ALA in the management of NP by discussing its analgesic effects by multiple antioxidant mechanisms as well as the use of patented ALA-based products and how technological approaches have been applied to enhance ALA's pharmacological properties.
神经病理性疼痛(NP)是慢性疼痛中最常见且使人衰弱的形式,由躯体感觉系统的损伤或疾病引起。由于目前的一线治疗仅能提供较差的症状缓解,因此寻找治疗NP的新策略是一个活跃的研究领域。多种机制参与了NP的发生和维持,包括氧化应激造成的损伤。天然存在的抗氧化剂α-硫辛酸(ALA)是一种有前景的治疗NP的药物。多项临床前体外和体内研究以及临床试验证明了ALA在治疗NP方面的镇痛潜力。ALA的有益生物活性体现在各种基于ALA开发创新产品的专利中。本综述通过讨论ALA通过多种抗氧化机制产生的镇痛作用、基于ALA的专利产品的使用以及如何应用技术方法增强ALA的药理特性,展示了ALA在治疗NP方面的潜力。