First description of the alpha lipoic acid intoxication in an adult patient worldwide following oral administration

Alpha lipoic acid (ALA), which is an anti-oxidant acting as a scavenger for reactive oxygen species, is especially used to improve glycemic control and prevent polyneuropathies associated with diabetes mellitus. ALA is considered to be a safe drug and intoxication with ALA is extremely rare. However, this paper reports a 38-year-old young woman who was admitted to the emergency department after she had ingested ten pills of 600mg ALA belonging to her diabetic parent, which led to delirium, metabolic acidosis, thrombocytopenia, and rhabdomyolysis. To the best of our knowledge, there are only four cases of ALA intoxication reported in the literature and all were observed in children. This report aims to present the first case of ALA related intoxication worldwide in an adult patient.