Burning mouth syndrome: the efficacy of lipoic acid on subgroups.

Objective We have examined the effect of alpha-lipoic acid (ALA, tioctic acid; Tiobec), a free radical scavenger, on the discomfort of burning mouth syndrome (BMS) in patients who had used tranquillizers previously, compared with those who had not. Methods In this study we gave lipoic acid for 2 months to two groups of 20 BMS patients, one of which had previously been treated with tranquillizers. Results The results showed greater effectiveness of lipoic acid in BMS patients who had not previously used tranquillizers. Conclusions The patients with BMS who had previously been treated with tranquillizers responded poorly to therapy with lipoic acid compared with those who had not received previous psychotropic therapy.