Objectives: Stroke is a pathological condition associated with a redox imbalance. Both the acute and the post-acute phases after a stroke are characterized by a pro-oxidant state, which could be corrected through antioxidant supplementation. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of the ALAnerv(®) upon the redox status of erythrocytes.
Material and methods: For this pilot study were enrolled 28 post-acute stroke patients. They were randomly divided into a control group [(-) ALA] and a study group [(+) ALA]. Patients were hospitalized for a period of two weeks. Blood samples were taken at the beginning and at the end of this period. Patients from (+) ALA group received the nutritional supplement ALAnerv(®). Catalase, SOD, GPx, GRed and GT activities were assessed on erythrocytes' lysates. Also, the total antioxidant capacity as well as the concentration of total thiols were evaluated.
Outcomes: During the study period only SOD (1393.48 ± 69.14 U/g Hb vs. 1514.06 ± 60.80) and GRed (4.47 ± 0.37 U/g Hb vs. 5.06 ± 0.24) significantly increased in (+) ALA group. Catalase (173.70 ± 14.62 k/g Hb vs. 123.41 ± 8.71) and GT (5.55 ± 0.26 U/g Hb vs. 4.95 ± 0.23) activities significantly decreased during the study period. Multiple regression indicated that only SOD, GT and GRed activities were influenced by the ALAnerv(®) consumption. There was no significant increase if the total thiols concentration.
Conclusions: ALAnerv(®) consumption could be associated with a correction of the erythrocytes' redox status. There is a need to investigate if administration of ALAnerv(®) over a longer time period could have a more significant influence on the erythrocytes' antioxidant system.
Keywords: catalase; glutathione reductase; glutathione transferase; lipoic acid; stroke; superoxide dismutase.