Besides taking lipoic acid for its general benefits as an antioxidant, you may be interested in using lipoic acid if you have any of the following conditions:

Hypertension (Elevated Blood Pressure); Coronary Heart Disease or Metabolic Syndrome (high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol): If you have hypertension or a build-up of plaque in your arteries from elevated cholesterol, you may benefit from alpha lipoic acid. The Boston University School of Medicine found that a combination of lipoic acid with another nutrient—acetyl-L-carnitine—helps lower blood pressure by increasing the width of arteries that had been constricted due to the build-up of plaque. Lipoic acid also improves the function of the mitochondria-a crucial part of the cell--involved in proper coronary vascular function.

Peripheral Neuropathy: If you suffer from burning, pain, numbness or itching in your legs and feet caused by peripheral neuropathy, alpha lipoic acid may ease your symptoms. This condition can be caused by diabetes and other conditions, such as Lyme disease, alcoholism, shingles, thyroid disease and kidney failure. Certain injuries can also cause the above symptoms, as well as nutritional deficiencies and chemotherapy.

In 2003, researchers at the Mayo Clinic discovered that patients with diabetic neuropathy who received high doses of intravenous alpha lipoic acid had a threefold improvement in pain, numbness and other symptoms, compared with those treated with a placebo. Lipoic acid also seemed to increase blood flow and oxygen to the nerves, actually improving their condition. Used in Europe for over 30 years in treating diabetes, lipoic acid may also help cells better metabolize glucose. Many more studies are now being conducted in the U.S. and around the world to determine the role of ALA in helping diabetics utilize insulin.

Liver Disease: Alpha lipoic acid was first used in the 1970s as a treatment for various forms of hepatitis by Burton M. Berkson, MD, MS, PhD, from the National Institutes of Health. The researchers administered alpha lipoic intravenously to 79 people with acute and severe liver damage at medical centers across the United States, and 75 recovered full liver function. In 2006, Dr. Berkson also reported using lipoic acid to increase the long-term survival of a patient suffering from metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Before 1977, if you suffered from severe liver disease - often caused by ingesting a toxin (mushroom poisoning, for example) - your only hope for recovery was a liver transplant. But in 1977, Dr. Berkson administered alpha lipoic acid intravenously to a patient dying from liver disease. The patient surprised doctors and not only recovered, but was free of liver disease 30 years later.

Brain Function: Able to pass easily through the brain, alpha lipoic acid helps protect the brain and nerve tissue. It is currently being investigated as a treatment for stroke and other brain disorders involving free radical damage, including Alzheimer's disease. Preliminary research shows that animals treated with lipoic acid suffered less brain damage and had four-times greater survival rate after a stroke than animals who didn't receive this supplement. More research is needed to understand whether this benefit applies to people as well.

Anti-Aging Compound: In May, 2007, Science Daily reported that alpha lipoic acid seemed to slow down the process of aging in animals by improving blood flow and enhancing immune function, as well as positively affecting several other factors involved in aging. Research findings were presented at Oregon State University (OSU) in a conference on Diet and Optimum Health. "The evidence suggests that lipoic acid is actually a low-level stressor that turns on the basic cellular defenses of the body, including some of those that naturally decline with age," said Tory Hagen, an LPI researcher and associate professor of biochemistry and biophysics at OSU. "In particular, it tends to restore levels of glutathione, a protective antioxidant and detoxification compound, to those of a young animal. It also acts as a strong anti-inflammatory agent, which is relevant to many degenerative diseases.