Effect of combined treatment with alpha-Lipoic acid and acetyl-L-carnitine on vascular function and blood pressure in patients with coronary artery disease. J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich) 2007 Apr;9(4):249-55
Date
03/31/2007Pubmed ID
17396066Pubmed Central ID
PMC2734271DOI
10.1111/j.1524-6175.2007.06052.xScopus ID
2-s2.0-34447342145 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 87 CitationsAbstract
Mitochondria produce reactive oxygen species that may contribute to vascular dysfunction. alpha-Lipoic acid and acetyl-L-carnitine reduce oxidative stress and improve mitochondrial function. In a double-blind crossover study, the authors examined the effects of combined alpha-lipoic acid/acetyl-L-carnitine treatment and placebo (8 weeks per treatment) on vasodilator function and blood pressure in 36 subjects with coronary artery disease. Active treatment increased brachial artery diameter by 2.3% (P=.008), consistent with reduced arterial tone. Active treatment tended to decrease systolic blood pressure for the whole group (P=.07) and had a significant effect in the subgroup with blood pressure above the median (151+/-20 to 142+/-18 mm Hg; P=.03) and in the subgroup with the metabolic syndrome (139+/-21 to 130+/-18 mm Hg; P=.03). Thus, mitochondrial dysfunction may contribute to the regulation of blood pressure and vascular tone. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings and determine the clinical utility of alpha-lipoic acid/acetyl-L-carnitine as antihypertensive therapy.
Author List
McMackin CJ, Widlansky ME, Hamburg NM, Huang AL, Weller S, Holbrook M, Gokce N, Hagen TM, Keaney JF Jr, Vita JAAuthor
Michael E. Widlansky MD Associate Director, Professor in the Medicine department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AcetylcarnitineAged
Analysis of Variance
Biomarkers
Blood Flow Velocity
Blood Pressure
Boston
Brachial Artery
Coronary Artery Disease
Cross-Over Studies
Double-Blind Method
Drug Therapy, Combination
Endothelium, Vascular
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Research Design
Thioctic Acid
Treatment Outcome
Vasodilation
Vitamin B Complex