The effectiveness of dietary supplements based on alpha-lipoic acid,acetyl l-carnitine and vitamin B complex in the treatment of craniofacial neuralgia

Abstract

Background: Craniofacial neuralgias are considered a highly unmet medical need. The understanding of neuropathic pain pathophysiology remains challenging, hindering the development of new therapeutic strategies. Recent evidence has shown that oxidative stress plays a crucial role in neuralgias pathogenesis.Therefore, antioxidant compounds have been proposed as possible treatments. Methods: We conducted a national survey involving 13 Italian ENT centres to analyse current craniofacial neuropathic pain treatments and evaluate their efficacy. Results: Craniofacial neuralgias negatively affected the patients’ Quality of Life (QoL), causing sleep disturbances, reduced work performance and the impediment of regular meals. Three months after the start of the treatments, patients treated with dietary supplements based on alpha-lipoic acid, acetyl L-carnitine and vitamin B complex (Tioneural Retard®) showed the greatest reduction in the VAS score attributed to neuralgia discomfort (p<0.001) Conclusions: Antioxidant compounds, due to their neuroprotective effects, effectively reduce neuropathic pain. Therefore, oxidative stress reduction appears to be a promising direction of neuropathic pain treatment and gives hope to patients currently forced to live with chronic, often disabling pain.