Response patterns to DL-carnitine in patients on maintenance haemodialysis.
10 hypertriglyceridaemic hemodialysis patients were given dl-carnitine, 600 mg daily, for 8 weeks and then 1.2 g daily for 12 weeks. Serum total cholesterol, total triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and plasma free fatty acid (FFA), glucose, and immunoreactive insulin concentrations were measured at regular intervals during the treatment. Intravenous fat tolerance tests were performed in 9 patients. Plasma FFA concentrations fell and the post-heparin fractional clearance rate of Intralipid increased significantly after all-carnitine administration. While overall no clear-cut effect of dl-carnitine on serum lipids was found, two patterns of response to dl-carnitine could be distinguished: the 'paradoxic' response with a rise in serum triglyceride concentrations and the dual response to two different dosages of dl-carnitine.
D000328:Adult; D002331:Carnitine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005230:Fatty Acids, Nonesterified / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
D005230:Fatty Acids, Nonesterified; D014280:Triglycerides; D002331:Carnitine