Over-The-Counter Supplement Might Help Multiple Sclerosis Treatment

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 17, 2025 (HealthDay News) — An over-the-counter supplement called lipoic acid might help slow the loss of gray matter in the brains of people with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), a new clinical trial has found.

Lipoic acid did not improve patients’ walking speed, which was the main outcome being measured by researchers.

But MRI scans revealed the supplement did appear to slow brain atrophy, researchers reported Dec. 15 in the journal Neurology.

“It didn’t work clinically in progressive multiple sclerosis the way we hoped,” said lead researcher Dr. Rebecca Spain, an associate professor of neurology at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland.

“However, the slowing of brain atrophy that we saw in MRI images suggests that we may yet be on the right track, especially if we can find a better way to deliver the beneficial effects of an antioxidant like lipoic acid,” she said in a news release.

Lipoic acid is a naturally occurring fatty acid found in many foods like yeast, spinach, broccoli, potatoes and organ meats like liver or kidney, according to Drugs.com.

The supplement is taken for diabetic neuropathy, and its action in the body makes it a potentially promising treatment for MS, researchers said in background notes.

Specifically, lipoic acid’s anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects might protect against the damage that MS does to myelin, the protective sheath that covers nerve fibers, as well as to the underlying nerves, researchers said.

For the new study, researchers recruited 54 people with progressive MS, a form of the disease in which brain function becomes steadily worse with no periods of remission.

These patients took a daily 1,200-milligram dose of lipoic acid over two years, and their progress was compared to that of 61 other MS patients taking a placebo.

This relatively high dose of lipoic acid was used to try and make sure enough of the supplement got into patients’ brains, researchers said.

“Lipoic acid is lipophobic,” Spain said. “It does not cross the blood-brain barrier and get into the central nervous system very easily.”

The results of this trial will be added to other studies of lipoic acid to further assess the supplement’s potential benefits, she said.

“We are going to learn more about whether lipoic acid is worth taking if you have progressive MS,” Spain said. “I am cautiously optimistic.”

More information

Johns Hopkins Medicine has more about progressive multiple sclerosis.

SOURCE: Oregon Health & Science University, news release, Dec. 15, 2025