Conditions: Anemia, Sickle Cell
Keywords: Antioxidant Inflammation Sickle Cell Disease Oxidative Stress Cytokines anti-inflammatory Acetylcarnitine
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 37
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
The purpose of this study is to determine whether alpha-lipoic acid and acetyl-L-carnitine will lower systemic inflammation in patients with Sickle Cell Disease by reducing oxidative stress, which will result in a decrease in the frequency of vaso-occlusive pain episodes and improve their quality of life.

Detailed description:
People with sickle cell disease have more inflammation (a response of body tissues to injury or irritation) than people without sickle cell disease. This inflammation can be measured in the blood by checking the level of a protein called C reactive protein as well as other changes we see in blood due to inflammation (such as changes in platelets and other cells). There is even more inflammation during sickle-related complications (like pain or acute chest syndrome). We want to test if inflammation in people with sickle cell disease can be reduced by the use of antioxidant compounds.

Antioxidants are nutrients (certain vitamins, minerals and enzymes) that can counteract the effects of oxidative stress arising from free radicals in our cells. The formation of free radicals is a normal cell process, but uncontrolled oxidative stress can cause problems for us. One such harmful problem is inflammation.

We know from other research studies that antioxidants help with some conditions related to inflammation. In this study the antioxidant being tested is a combination of alpha-lipoic acid and acetyl-L-carnitine, both of which are natural parts of many of the foods we eat and are needed by our cells to make energy from food.

Arms:
arm 1: alpha-lipoic acid and acetyl-L-carnitine1400 mg tablet twice a day for 6 months. arm 2: 1400 mg placebo tablet twice a day for 6 months.

Interventions: intervention 1: alpha-lipoic acid and acetyl-L-carnitine intervention 2: Control
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: none to report intervention 2: none to report

Protocol document: