Evidence mapPaperPMID 41083749Full record

ReviewNeurocritical care2026

Exploring the Role of Alpha Lipoic Acid in the Treatment of Traumatic Brain Injury: Pathways and Perspectives.

Mazyar Ataei, Amirreza Peyrovinasab, Moloud Saleh, Hedieh Sadat Shamsnia, Leila Mohaghegh Shalmani, Amir Hossein Abdolghaffari

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In one paragraph

Review in Neurocritical care, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Mazyar AtaeiDepartment of Toxicology & Pharmacology, TeMS.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
Amirreza PeyrovinasabDepartment of Toxicology & Pharmacology, TeMS.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
Moloud SalehDepartment of Toxicology & Pharmacology, TeMS.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
Hedieh Sadat ShamsniaDepartment of Toxicology & Pharmacology, TeMS.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
Leila Mohaghegh ShalmaniDepartment of Toxicology & Pharmacology, TeMS.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
Amir Hossein AbdolghaffariDepartment of Toxicology & Pharmacology, TeMS.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran. amirhosein172@hotmail.com.ORCID 0000-0001-9961-9097

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTraumatic brain injury (TBI) is known to be a critical health challenge with a significant number of hospital admissions. In addition to the primary injury and its complications, the secondary phase of the injury also causes numerous health issues. Neuroinflammation, oxidative stress (OS), and neuronal cell death are among the main outcomes of secondary injury. Although so far there are no drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration for TBI's pharmacological treatment, numerous pharmaceutical compounds have been studied to help patients. Alpha lipoic acid (ALA), as a potent antioxidant agent, has been investigated for a considerable period.

methodsEligible original studies written in English on the effects of ALA in TBI were collected from PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar for clinical, in vivo, and in vitro studies.

resultsALA is able to enter the blood-brain barrier due to its distinctive combination of hydrophilic and hydrophobic characteristics, enabling it to directly affect brain regions. It acts as a cofactor for enzymes in mitochondria, helping in oxidative carboxylation and replenishing other antioxidants like glutathione. This improves the glutathione/glutathione disulfide ratio during cellular stress, hence reducing cell death. In addition, ALA regulates oxidative, inflammatory, and apoptotic pathways by controlling the activity of caspase 3, caspase 9, nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB), and inflammatory proteins, including tumor necrosis factor and inducible nitric oxide synthase. These methods highlight the potential of ALA in decreasing neuronal damage and OS in brain-related illnesses, including TBI.

conclusionsBased on this review, it can be concluded that ALA can potentially be administered as a therapeutic option for patients with TBI. However, more studies and trials are required to adjust the optimum dosing of ALA for the treatment of patients.

Indexed as

AntioxidantsBrain Injuries, TraumaticNeuroprotective AgentsOxidative StressThioctic AcidHumansAntioxidantsNeuroprotective AgentsThioctic AcidAlpha lipoic acidAntiinflammatoryAntioxidantNeuroprotectionTraumatic brain injury

Identifiers

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.