Cataract AND Alpha lipoic acid

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a highly prevalent disease affecting almost 10% of the world population; it is characterized by acute and chronic conditions. Diabetic patients have twenty-five times higher risk of going blind and developing cataracts early than the general population. Alpha-lipoic acid (LA) is a highly valuable natural antioxidant for the prevention and treatment of ophthalmic complications, such as diabetic keratopathy and retinopathy. However, its applicability is limited due to its low solubility in water; therefore, suitable systems are required for its formulation...

Blinding cataract is a significant effect of canine diabetes with 75% of animals affected two years after diagnosis. Lens opacification occurs primarily through the generation of sorbitol, a sugar alcohol, through the action of aldose reductase (AR). The osmotic effect of sorbitol draws water into the lens, causing opacification. Inhibition of AR should thus prevent the generation of cataracts. A topical AR inhibitor has been shown to have this effect, as has the commercially available neutraceutical OcuGLO, containing the AR inhibitor alpha lipoic acid (ALA) together with other plant-based antioxidants...

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether alpha lipoic acid (LA) can effectively protect lenses from hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced cataract. METHODS: Lens from adult Sprague-Dawley rats were cultured in 24-well plates and treated without or with 0.2 mM of H2O2, 0.2 mM of H2O2 plus 0.5 mM, 1.0 mM, or 2.0 mM of LA for 24 h. Cataract was assessed using cross line grey scale measurement. Superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH-Px), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and malondialdehyde (MDA) activity or level in lens homogenates was measured...

The potent corrole-based ROS/RNS decomposition catalyst 1-Fe was examined regarding its effect on the development of diabetes complications, in parallel with studies that addressed safety and toxicity issues that are crucial for forwarding the compound towards clinical trials. Cardiotoxicity and mutagenic potential were addressed by applying the hERG and AMES tests on 1-Fe, revealing that it is safe enough for further development. General toxicity studies in rats disclosed the appearance of mild adverse effect only at a dose of 300 mg/kg/day...

PURPOSE: To evaluate whether alpha-lipoic acid (LA) inhibits lens opacity of naphthalene-induced cataract by altering post-translational modifications (PTMs) and protecting the chaperone activity of alpha-crystallins. METHODS: Forty-five Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three groups: control, naphthalene, and naphthalene plus LA. Cataracts were induced by oral administration of 1 g naphthalene/kg body weight/day. Rats in the naphthalene plus LA group were also fed 30 mg LA/day...

PURPOSE: To determine the concentration of alpha-lipoic acid in the aqueous and investigate if its topical instillation can increase quantities. METHODS: A total of 70 patients selected to undergo cataract surgery were randomly divided into two groups. Group 1 was used as a control group; for the patients in Group 2, a single instillation of alpha-lipoic acid eye drops (1%) was administered. Immediately before surgery, an aliquot of 40-120 microL of aqueous was aspirated...

Abstract The present study was undertaken to investigate the ability of dietary supplements to reduce the formation and severity of cataracts in mice irradiated with high-energy protons or iron ions, which are important components of the radiation encountered by astronauts during space travel. The mice were exposed to proton or iron-ion radiation and fed with a control diet or diets supplemented with the soybean-derived protease inhibitor, Bowman-Birk inhibitor (BBI), in the form of BBI Concentrate (BBIC) or an antioxidant formulation [containing l-selenomethionine (SeM), N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), ascorbic acid, co-enzyme Q10, alpha-lipoic acid and vitamin E succinate] both before and after the radiation exposure...

PURPOSE: alpha-Lipoic acid (LA) is well known as a powerful antioxidant. The efficacy of dihydrolipoate-LA for oral administration against streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic cataract in rat was investigated. METHODS: Rats were divided into three groups, control, diabetes mellitus (DM), and DM treated with LA (DM+LA). Diabetes was induced by intravenous injection of 50 mg/kg STZ. DM+LA rats were fed 30 mg/rat per day LA in their diet. Lens changes were assessed using Scheimpflug images (EAS-1000) and by measuring light-scattering intensity...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether DL-alpha-lipoic acid (LA) can offer lenticular protection in diabetic rats. METHOD: 36 Brown-Norway (BN) specific pathogen free (SPF) rats (7 week-old, female), were divided into 3 groups comprising of the diabetes mellitus (DM) group (14 rats), the diabetes mellitus treated with LA (DM + LA) group (14 rats), and the control (CTL) group (8 rats). The diabetic cataract was induced by streptozotocin (STZ) injection. Powdered food mixed with 0...

Lipoic acid is a prostetic group of H-protein of the glycine cleavage system and the dihydrolipoamide acyltransferases (E2) of the pyruvate, alpha-ketoglutarate and branched-chain alpha-keto acid dehydrogenase complexes. Lipoic acid and its reduced form, dihydrolipoic acid, reacts with oxygen reactive species. This paper reviews the beneficial effects in oxidative stress models or clinical conditions.

Alpha-lipoic acid (LA) and its reduced form, dihydrolipoic acid, are powerful antioxidants. LA scavenges hydroxyl radicals, hypochlorous acid, peroxynitrite, and singlet oxygen. Dihydrolipoic acid also scavenges superoxide and peroxyl radicals and can regenerate thioredoxin, vitamin C, and glutathione, which in turn can recycle vitamin E. There are several possible sources of oxidative stress in diabetes including glycation reactions, decompartmentalization of transition metals, and a shift in the reduced-oxygen status of the diabetic cells...

BACKGROUND: Diabetes commonly leads to long-term complications such as cataract. This study investigated the effects of alpha-lipoic acid (LPA) and its gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) conjugate on cataract development in diabetic sand rats. METHODS: Two separate experiments were conducted. In Experiment 1, sand rats were fed a "high-energy" diet (70% starch), an acute model of Type 2 diabetes, and injected with LPA. In Experiment 2, the animals received a "medium-energy" diet (59% starch), a chronic diabetic model, and were intubated with LPA or its GLA conjugate...

In previous studies stereospecific protection against lens opacity was consistent with specific reduction of R-alpha-lipoic acid(R-alpha-LA) in mitochondria of the vulnerable cells at the lens equator where the first globular degeneration is seen in glucose cataract. In this study two further possible explanations of this effect were investigated: (1) increased glucose uptake by the lens, leading to increased glycolysis and release of lactate into the incubation medium and/or (2) maintenance of glutathione levels by the R-alpha-LA...

The effect of several antioxidants and cysteine-elevating precursor drugs (prodrugs) was tested on lens damage occurring after in vitro exposure to low levels of 60Co-gamma-irradiation, to simulate in vitro the exposure to radiation in vivo of (1) astronauts (2) jet crews (3) military radiation accident personnel. Tocopherol (100 microM), ascorbic acid (1 mM), R-alpha-lipoic acid (1 mM), and taurine (0.5 mM) protected against radiation-associated protein leakage. MTCA and ribocysteine protected lenses against opacification, LDH and protein leakage, indicating that antioxidants and prodrugs of cysteine appear to offer protection against lens damage caused by low level radiation...

This study revealed a marked stereospecificity in the prevention of buthionine sulfoximine-induced cataract, and in the protection of lens antioxidants, in newborn rats by alpha-lipoate, R- and racemic alpha-lipoate decreased cataract formation from 100% (buthionine sulfoximine only) to 55% (buthionine sulfoximine + R-alpha-lipoic acid) and 40% (buthionine sulfoximine + rac-alpha-lipoic acid) (p<0.05 compared to buthionine sulfoximine only). S-alpha-lipoic acid had no effect on cataract formation induced by buthionine sulfoximine...

The development of drugs in order to block metabolic pathway of glucose responsible for diabetic vascular dysfunction is in progress. Aldose reductase inhibitors prevent or reduce the different components of vascular dysfunction, cataract, neuropathy and nephropathy in animal models of diabetes. Promising results have been observed in diabetic patients concerning the prevention of neuropathy and of retinopathy. Larger scale studies with the second generation compounds are in progress. Glycation inhibitors, mainly aminoguanidine, have been shown to prevent or reduce vascular dysfunction and microvascular complications in animal models...

We investigated the effect of alpha-lipoic acid, a powerful antioxidant, on cataract formation in L-buthionine(S,R)-sulfoximine (BSO)-treated newborn rats and found that a dose of 25 mg/kg b.w. protected 60% of animals from cataract formation. L-buthionine(S,R)-sulfoximine is an inhibitor of glutathione synthesis, whose administration to newborn animals leads to the development of cataracts; this is a potential model for studying the role of therapeutic antioxidants in protecting animals from cataract formation...

alpha-Lipoic acid, which plays an essential role in mitochondrial dehydrogenase reactions, has recently gained considerable attention as an antioxidant. Lipoate, or its reduced form, dihydrolipoate, reacts with reactive oxygen species such as superoxide radicals, hydroxyl radicals, hypochlorous acid, peroxyl radicals, and singlet oxygen. It also protects membranes by interacting with vitamin C and glutathione, which may in turn recycle vitamin E. In addition to its antioxidant activities, dihydrolipoate may exert prooxidant actions through reduction of iron...