We studied the effect of intravenously infused carnitine (34 mumol.100 g-1.d-1) on protein and branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) metabolism in rats either starved for 3 d or parenterally fed for 7 d. Carnitine infusion did not significantly affect nitrogen balance, protein content of liver and muscle, plasma concentrations of BCAA and branched-chain keto acid, or leucine oxidation and incorporat...

Letters to the Editor will be published, if suitable, as space permits. They should not exceed 1000 words (typed double-spaced) in length and may be subject to editing or abridgment. To the Editor: Ruggenenti et al 1 report that oral administration of acetyl-L-carnitine results in a substantial, sustained, and simultaneous improvement in insulin sensitivity and blood pressure in insulin-resista...

Plasma and urine free and acyl carnitine were measured in 19 children with nephropathic cystinosis and renal Fanconi syndrome. Each patient exhibited a deficiency of plasma free carnitine (mean 11.7 +/- 4.0 [SD] nmol/ml) compared with normal control values (42.0 +/- 9.0 nmol/ml) (P less than 0.001). Mean plasma acyl carnitine in the cystinotic subjects was normal. Four subjects with Fanconi syn...

L-Carnitine is an amino acid derivative required for the β-oxidation of long-chain fatty acids, a process necessary for deriving energy from fat. Carnitine deficiency has been shown to cause dilated cardiomyopathy in a small population of dogs, and effects of carnitine deficiency on other tissue are being explored. Preliminary evidence reveals that feline hepatic lipidosis may result from a rel...

The objective. was to investigate L-Carnitine level and the effects of its supplementation in children with moderate persistent Asthma. Methods. Free and total serum carnitine levels were measured in 50 children having moderate persistent asthma and 50 healthy control children. The patients group was randomly divided into two subgroups. Subgroup A was supplemented with L-carnitine for 6 months ...

The purpose of this investigation was to determine if there was any relationship between dietary carnitine intake and the concentrations of carnitine in skeletal muscle and blood plasma in healthy adult men and women. Subjects (14 men, 14 women, fasted 8 h) reported to the Biodynamics Laboratory where they completed a 24-h diet recall questionnaire. Resting muscle biopsy (vastus lateralis) and ...

We determined the effects of orthotopic liver transplantation on plasma and red cell carnitine concentrations in patients with end-stage liver disease. Before transplantation, plasma and red cell carnitine were significantly elevated above normal. The partitioning factor (ratio of red cell carnitine to plasma carnitine) was four times greater than that observed in our reference population. Afte...

This study compared plasma and urinary carnitine concentrations in pregnant and non-pregnant Korean women. The subjects were fifty pregnant women and thirty non-pregnant women aged 24-28 years. During the first trimester, dietary carnitine intakes in the pregnant women were much lower than in non-pregnant women (70.00 (SD 29.22) micromol/d), but over the course of pregnancy carnitine intake inc...

In this study, serum carnitine (CRNT) and adiponectin (APN) levels and the correlation of these parameters in patients with breast cancer before and after treatment with radiotherapy (RT) were determined. MATERIALS AND METHODS Serum adiponectin and carnitine levels were assessed in 58 patients with breast carcinoma and 30 control subjects. Serum carnitine and APN levels were determined using ...

The heart is unable to synthesize L-carnitine and is strictly dependent on the L-carnitine provided by the blood stream; however, additional studies are needed to better understand the mechanism of L-carnitine supplementation to the heart. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of L-carnitine on angiotensin II (Ang II)-induced cardiac fibroblast proliferation and to explore its intra...