title: Myocardial free carnitine and fatty acylcarnitine levels in patients with chronic heart failure.
abstract: To study the tissue carnitine level in patients with chronic heart failure, we obtained biopsy specimens of the left ventricular papillary muscle from 8 patients with mitral valve disease undergoing valve replacement surgery. As a control group autopsy specimens from 7 patients without heart disease were obtained within 4 hours of death. The free carnitine level in the heart was significantly lower in patients with chronic heart failure than in the control group (412 +/- 142 nmol/g wet tissue vs 769 +/- 267; p less than 0.01, mean +/- SD). The long-chain acylcarnitine level was significantly higher in chronic heart failure than in the control group (532 +/- 169 nmol/g wet tissue vs 317 +/- 72; p less than 0.01). The total carnitine level in chronic heart failure was similar to that in the control group (1321 +/- 170 nmol/g wet tissue vs 1315 +/- 377). These results show that in failing myocardium the fatty acid metabolism may be impaired, and administration of carnitine may be worth trying to treat chronic heart failure.
authors.affiliation: Third Department of Internal Medicine, University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Masumura
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yamazaki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D001344:Autopsy; D001706:Biopsy; D002331:Carnitine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000032:analysis*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000378:metabolism*; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000601:surgery; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008943:Mitral Valve; D010210:Papillary Muscles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000473:pathology; D011180:Postmortem Changes; D012016:Reference Values
chemical_list: D002331:Carnitine