The Combination of Acetyl L-Carnitine, Alpha Lipoic Acid and Ribes Nigrum in the Treatment of Lumbar Disc Herniation

Piccirilli M, Tropeano MP, Arif Z and Scafa Ak

Published on: 2022-03-05

Abstract

Background: Several guidelines support the use of a conservative strategy as the primary approach to treat lumbar radiculopathy. Surgery is recommended in cases of acute, severe, or progressive paresis, and is offered for intractable radicular pain. International literature points out how surgery can improve the short-term but not the long-term prognosis of pain and perceived disability. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of the integration of acetyl L-carnitine (ALC), alpha lipoic acid (ALA) and Ribes nigrum (RN) on patients affected by lumbar radiculopathy (both on surgical and conservatively treated ones), analyzing the impact on pain and perceived disability.

Method: Between January and December 2020, 54 patients referred to our Institution for the treatment of LDH. The chosen approaches were: (1) surgery alone (Group A), (2) surgery plus integration of ALC (1000 mg), ALA (600 mg) and RN (200 mg) (Group B), (3) conservative treatment alone (Group C). All patients were assessed before treatment and at 1, 3 and 6 months after treatment using VAS, ODI and SBI scores.

Results: A statistically significant difference was found in VAS LP at 1 month between Groups A-B and Group C (24.8-20.61 vs 56.4, p<0.0001). Group B VAS LP at 1-3-6 months was 20.6-10.7-1.2 respectively, compared to Group A (VAS LP at 1-3-6 months: 24.8-15-5.4; p-values =0.002, <0.0001, <0.0001). Similar results were obtained for VAS BP and ODI values. Another significant difference was found in SBI P between Groups A and B at 1 month (3.1 vs 2, p=0.0002), at 3 months (2.1 vs 1, p=0.0008), and at 6 months (1.1 vs 0.1, p<0,0001).

Conclusions: Integration of ALC, ALA and RN proved to be an excellent therapeutic support in patients both surgically and conservatively treated.