Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0004093 (asthenia)
 2,650 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Carnitine is a natural substance essential for the mitochondrial oxidation of long-chain fatty acids and therefore regulates the energy metabolism of the cells. Tissue carnitine levels are altered under diabetes mellitus or hypertension. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of L-carnitine therapy in essential hypertension with diabetes mellitus type II. A clinical trial was performed in two homogeneous groups with essential hypertension and diabetes mellitus type II. L-carnitine was given orally, 2 g twice daily, for 45 weeks. In the group of patients treated with L-carnitine in comparison with control group cardiac arrhythmias, chiefly extrasystoles, some disorders of A-V conduction and some electrocardiographic signs of ischaemia stopped or diminished and symptoms, chiefly asthenia, significantly improved. No side effects were observed during the treatment. These results show that treatment with L-carnitine is useful and well tolerated in patients with essential hypertension and diabetes mellitus type II.
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PMID:[The benefits of L-carnitine therapy in essential arterial hypertension with diabetes mellitus type II]. 265 58

Carnitine, gamma-trimethyl-beta-hydroxybutyrobetaine, is a small molecule widely present in all cells from prokaryotic to eukaryotic. It is an important element in the beta-oxidation of fatty acids. A lack of carnitine in hemodialysis patients is caused by insufficient carnitine synthesis and particularly by the loss through dialytic membranes, leading in some patients to carnitine depletion with a relative increase of esterified forms. The authors found a decrease in plasma-triglyceride and increase of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-Chol) in dialysis patients during carnitine treatment. Many studies have shown that L-carnitine supplementation leads to improvements in several complications seen in uremic patients, including cardiac complications, impaired exercise and functional capacities, muscle symptoms, increased symptomatic intradialytic hypotension, and erythropoietin-resistant anemia, normalizing the reduced carnitine palmitoyl transferase activity in red cells. In addition, carnitine supplementation may improve protein metabolism and insulin resistance. Recently, carnitine supplementation has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration not only for the treatment, but also for the prevention of carnitine depletion in dialysis patients. Regular carnitine supplementation in hemodialysis patients can improve their lipid metabolism, protein nutrition, antioxidant status, and anemia requiring large doses of erythropoietin, It also may reduce the incidence of intradialytic muscle cramps, hypotension, asthenia, muscle weakness, and cardiomyopathy.
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PMID:Carnitine and hemodialysis. 1261 67