title: Effect of 8-day therapy with propionyl-L-carnitine on muscular and subcutaneous blood flow of the lower limbs in patients with peripheral arterial disease.
abstract: The efficacy of propionyl-L-carnitine in increasing walking capacity in patients with peripheral arterial disease is primarily due to the metabolic effect of the drug, but a direct vasoactive action is also hypothesized. Muscular and subcutaneous blood flow of lower limbs were separately evaluated using the 133-Xenon washout technique in 10 patients with peripheral arterial disease of moderate degree, before and after 8-days of treatment with propionyl-L-carnitine (1 g orally b.i.d.). After treatment, muscular blood flow slightly increased, from 10.7 +/- 13.4 to 14.1 +/- 14.0 ml kg-1 min-1. This increase was not statistically significant (T = -1.6568, P = 0.136). Subcutaneous blood flow was not affected by the treatment (from 26.2 +/- 16.9 to 26.1 +/- 12.5 ml kg-1 min-1, T = 0.0141, P = 0.95). In conclusion, in patients with peripheral arterial disease, short-term therapy with propionyl-L-carnitine had no clinical significant effect on muscular and subcutaneous blood flow of the lower limbs. Therefore, this study suggests that the beneficial effect of this drug on the walking capacity of patients with peripheral arterial disease is not due to a direct vasoactive action. Oral administration of propionyl-L-carnitine was found to be safe, as it did not cause any change in heptic, renal or metabolic functional parameters.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Medicina Clinica, Università di Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bolognesi
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Amodio
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Merkel
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Godi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gatta
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001158:Arteries / Q000187:drug effects; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000187:drug effects*; D002331:Carnitine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009132:Muscles / Q000187:drug effects; D016491:Peripheral Vascular Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D013997:Time Factors; D016138:Walking; D014978:Xenon / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D014978:Xenon; D002331:Carnitine