BACKGROUND Streptozotocin-induced diabetes (STZ-D) in rats has been associated with carnitine deficiency, bradycardia and left ventricular enlargement. AIM The purpose of this study was to determine whether oral carnitine supplementation would normalize carnitine levels and cardiac function in STZ-D rats. METHODS Wistar rats (48) were made hyperglycemic by STZ at 26 weeks of age. Same age n...

Hypothyroid patients experience fatigue-related symptoms despite adequate thyroid hormone replacement. Thyroid hormone plays an essential role in carnitine-dependent fatty acid import and oxidation. We investigated the effects of L-carnitine supplementation on fatigue in patients with hypothyroidism. In total, 60 patients (age 50.0 ± 9.2 years, 3 males, 57 females) who still experienced fatigue...

OBJECTIVE Fatty acid oxidation is predominantly a mitochondrial event, which is enhanced by dietary choline and carnitine supplementation resulting in extra reactive oxygen species (ROS) load. The objective was to assess oxidative stress level by thiobarbituric acid reactive substances [TBARS] in choline and carnitine supplemented healthy women before and after mild exercise. METHODS Nineteen...

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...

BACKGROUND Carnitine plays essential roles in energy production, oxidative stress and glucose metabolism. This study was planned to determine serum total L-carnitine levels in non-obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). METHODS There were 27 non-obese women with PCOS and 30 healthy, age- and body mass index (BMI) matched controls were evaluated in this controlled clinical study. Se...

BACKGROUND It is well known that the physical activity in chronic hemodialysis patients decreases compared to that in normal subjects. In order to investigate the effects of L-carnitine on physical capacity and lipid metabolism, a cardiopulmonary exercise test using a bicycle ergometer was performed before and after 3 months of oral L-carnitine supplementation under double-blind conditions. M...

The conversion of 6-N-[Me-(14)C]trimethyl-lysine into carnitine and 4-N-trimethylaminobutyrate (butyrobetaine) was demonstrated in rats kept on a lysine-deficient diet. After the rats were given [(14)C]trimethyl-lysine for 4 days, a total of 17% of the injected label was recovered as carnitine from carcass and urine extracts. Another 8% of the trimethyl-lysine label was converted into 4-N-trime...

We have previously demonstrated that carnitine deficiency aggravated paracetamol-induced hepatopathy and carboplatin-induced nephropathy. As a continuum, we have addressed in the current study as to whether carboplatininduced myelosuppression would be exacerbated by carnitine deficiency. Challenging male Wistar rats with a single dose of carboplatin (35 mg/kg, IP) induced bone marrow suppressio...

Muscle lipid overload and the associated accumulation of lipid intermediates play an important role in the development of insulin resistance. Carnitine insufficiency is a common feature of insulin-resistant states and might lead to incomplete fatty acid oxidation and impaired export of lipid intermediates out of the mitochondria. The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that carn...