Trial reportOphthalmology. Retina2020
Orally Administered Alpha Lipoic Acid as a Treatment for Geographic Atrophy: A Randomized Clinical Trial.
Trial report in Ophthalmology. Retina, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05808946 (The Effect of Alpha-Lipoic Acid on the Clinical Outcome of Patients With Sepsis), which is not on this map. Cited by 16 papers.
What it found
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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.
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.
The Effect of Alpha-Lipoic Acid on the Clinical Outcome of Patients With Sepsis
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 22 citations in OpenAlex.
- Ex Vivo Biodistribution of α-Lipoic Acid in the Eye Using Ocular Inserts: A Novel Strategy for Retinal Antioxidant Therapy.Ophthalmology science · 2026Article
- Association between Baseline Subfoveal Choroidal Thickness and Anatomical and Functional Outcomes in Geographic Atrophy.Ophthalmology science · 2026Article
- Clinical Trial Simulation in Geographic Atrophy: Patient, Caregiver, and Trial Site Staff Perspectives.Ophthalmology and therapy · 2025Article
- α-Lipoic acid mitigates age-related macular degeneration via ferroptosis: integrative multi-omics and network pharmacology.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Article
- Targeting oxidative stress in diabetic retinopathy: mechanisms, pathology, and novel treatment approaches.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- Antioxidants and Mechanistic Insights for Managing Dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Recent Advances in Our Understanding of Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Mitochondrial Dysfunction, Redox Signaling, and the Complement System.Aging and disease · 2024Review
- Evolution of macular atrophy in eyes with neovascular age-related macular degeneration compared to fellow non-neovascular eyes.Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie · 2023Article
- Onset and Progression of Persistent Choroidal Hypertransmission Defects in Intermediate Age-Related Macular Degeneration: A Novel Clinical Trial Endpoint.American journal of ophthalmology · 2023Article
- Neuroprotection for Age-Related Macular Degeneration.Ophthalmology science · 2022Review
- A hierarchical Bayesian entry time realignment method to study the long-term natural history of diseases.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Complete Resolution of Central Soft Drusen without Geographic Atrophy or Choroidal Neovascularization.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Article
- Novel approach to antiangiogenic factors in age-related macular degeneration therapy.Central-European journal of immunology · 2022Review
- Safety Evaluation of α-Lipoic Acid Supplementation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Placebo-Controlled Clinical Studies.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Article
- Targeted High-Density Microperimetry Testing of Nascent Geographic Atrophy in Age-Related Macular Degeneration.Ophthalmology scienceArticle
- METformin for the MINimization of Geographic Atrophy Progression (METforMIN): A Randomized Trial.Ophthalmology scienceArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
16 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
purposeAlpha lipoic acid (ALA) is a nutraceutical and potent antioxidant that has shown efficacy in the retina light damage mouse model and in humans for multiple sclerosis. Our objective was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of oral ALA for the treatment of geographic atrophy (GA).
designRandomized, controlled, double-masked, multicenter phase 2 clinical trial of ALA versus placebo.
participantsParticipants with unilateral or bilateral GA from age-related macular degeneration.
methodsParticipants were randomized to 1200 mg daily of ALA or placebo. Fundus autofluorescence, fundus color photography, and spectral-domain OCT were conducted and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was obtained at baseline and every 6 months through month 18.
main outcome measuresAnnual rate of change over 18 months in square root-transformed area of GA in study eyes as measured on fundus autofluorescence. Secondary outcomes included the number of adverse events (AEs), change in BCVA, and annual rate of change in area of GA measured on color photographs.
resultsFifty-three participants (mean age, 80 years) were randomized (April 2016-August 2017). Twenty-seven participants (37 eyes) were in the placebo group, and 26 participants (36 eyes) were in the ALA group. Unadjusted mean (standard error) annual change in GA area was 0.28 (0.02) mm and 0.31 (0.02) mm for the placebo and ALA groups, respectively (difference, 0.04 mm; 95% confidence interval [CI], -0.03 to 0.11 mm; P = 0.30). Adjusting for baseline GA area, number of GA lesions, and presence of subfoveal GA, the mean annual change in GA area was 0.27 (0.04) mm and 0.32 (0.05) mm for the placebo and ALA groups, respectively (difference, 0.05 mm; 95% CI, -0.02 to 0.12 mm; P = 0.14). At 18 months, the percent of eyes losing 15 letters or more of BCVA was 22% (8 of 36) and 14% (5 of 36) in the placebo and ALA groups, respectively (P = 0.54). No difference was found in the percentage of participants with nonserious AEs (P = 0.96) or serious AEs (P = 0.28) between the placebo and ALA groups.
conclusionsResults do not support ALA having beneficial effects on GA or BCVA. This trial design may be useful for other GA repurposing drug trials.
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Registered trials
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 OpenQuestion graph.