α-Lipoic acid treatment of 31 patients with sore, burning mouth

Objective: To review a series of patients with sore, burning mouth treated with α-lipoic acid between 2000 and May 2006 and subjectively evaluate improvement in symptoms. Design: Retrospective review of medical records of 195 consecutive patients who sought treatment for sore, burning mouth. Treatment of 47 patients was a prescription/recommendation for α-lipoic acid. Of these patients, 35 were available for follow-up. Setting: Tertiary care academic medical center. Subjects: Ambulatory patients given prescription/recommendation for α-lipoic acid 600 mg per day, in divided doses. Main Outcome Measure: Reported improvement in symptoms documented in medical records and at follow-up (visits or telephone interviews). Results: Thirty-one of the 35 patients (66% of all 47) actually took α-lipoic acid as recommended. No patient reported a complete alleviation of symptoms. Six (19%) of these 31 patients felt mostly better, five (16%) felt somewhat better, and 14 (45%) reported no difference. Two patients (7%) reported a worsening of symptoms and four (13%) did not know whether there had been improvement. Conclusion: Eleven of 31 patients (35%) reported benefit from taking α-lipoic acid. Because we examined only a small number of patients and relied on a subjective outcome assessment, further larger studies using a prospective, randomized, controlled, and double-blind structure are warranted.