Help for Burning Mouth Syndrome

• Causes
• Clinical Evidence

Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) presents symptoms of chronic, painful burning sensations on the tongue, lips, and palate with no obvious reason. Symptoms occur during the day and may be relieved by eating or drinking. ^(iii.101)

BMS usually affects middle-aged and elderly women but men sometimes develop the syndrome. Although difficult to treat, clinical studies show alpha lipoic acid can provide real symptom relief for some patients. ^{(iii.101-103)}

Causes of Burning Mouth Syndrome

The causes of BMS are still vague. Experts generally classify BMS into 3 types, which may overlap: ^{(iii.101, 104)}

Others suggest all of the above fall into a category of secondary BMS, with an identifiable cause. These experts categorize primary BMS as having no identifiable cause, but think it is likely a nervous system disorder. ^{(iii.101, 104)}

Clinical Evidence of Benefits

Studies to measure the effectiveness of alpha lipoic acid treatment for BMS have shown mixed results, but a number of clinical trials indicate that it does relieve painful symptoms. A systematic Cochrane review published in 2005 concluded that alpha lipoic acid may indeed help manage burning mouth syndrome. However, some studies published after the Cochrane review found it to be statistically no better than placebo when administered alone. ^{(iii.102, 105-108)}

Analysis of a 2015 double-blind, placebo controlled clinical trial may provide more insight into the mixed results from previous studies. Involving 60 patients with BMS, this randomized clinical trial showed that 600 mg/day of alpha lipoic acid improved BMS symptoms significantly better than placebo. ^(iii.103)

The researchers also attempted to figure out why some patients responded better to alpha lipoic acid treatment than others. What they found suggests that alpha lipoic acid may help some types of patients more than others: ^(iii.103)