Dichloroacetate by Ray Sahelian, M.D.

Dichloroacetate (DCA) is a potential environmental hazard, owing to its wide presence in the biosphere and its association with animal and human toxicity.

Dichloracetate benefit
Therapeutic potential of dichloroacetate for pyruvate dehydrogenase complex deficiency.
Mitochondrion. 2006 Jun;6(3):126-35. Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, University of Florida College of Medicine, P.O. Box 10226, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA.
We reviewed the use of oral dichloroacetate in the treatment of children with congenital lactic acidosis caused by mutations in the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC). The case histories of 46 subjects were analyzed with regard to diagnosis, clinical presentation and response to dichloroacetate. Dichloroacetate decreased blood and cerebrospinal fluid lactate concentrations, and was generally well tolerated. Dichloroacetate may be particularly effective in children with PDC deficiency by stimulating residual enzyme activity and, consequently, cellular energy metabolism. A controlled trial is needed to determine the definitive role of dichloroacetate in the management of this devastating disease.

Dichloroacetate studies in rodents
Maternal exposure to high doses of trichloroethylene (TCE) and its oxidative metabolites, trichloroacetic acid (TCA) and dichloroacetic acid, has been implicated in eye malformations in fetal rats.

Dichloroacetate and neuropathy
Dichloroacetate causes toxic neuropathy in MELAS: a randomized, controlled clinical trial. Neurology. 2006 Oct 10;67(7):1313; Comment on: Neurology. 2006 Feb 14;66(3):324-30.