Carnitine in Maintenance Hemodialysis Patients

Carnitine is a conditionally essential metabolite that plays a critical role in cell physiology. Carnitine is necessary for fatty acid transport to sites of beta-oxidation in the mitochondria, where it also helps to prevent organic acid accumulation. Because of these key regulatory functions, carnitine represents a crucial determinant of mitochondrial energy metabolism, whose deficiency may lead to metabolic and clinical disturbances. Loss of carnitine through dialytic membranes occurs in maintenance hemodialysis, resulting in potential carnitine depletion and relative increments of esterified carnitine forms. Carnitine supplementation has been reported to counteract some of these alterations and has been associated with some clinical benefits, such as enhanced response to erythropoietin as well as improvement in exercise tolerance, intradialytic symptom, hyperparathyroidism, insulin resistance, inflammatory and oxidant status, protein balance, lipid profile, cardiac function, and quality of life. Carnitine supplementation has an attractive theoretical rationale; however, there are no definitive supportive studies and conclusive evidence that L-carnitine supplementation in maintenance hemodialysis patients could improve these conditions. A trial of carnitine administration could be attempted for 6 to 12 months only in selected patients on dialysis who do not adequately respond to standard therapies, in the presence of symptomatology, and in conjunction with patient dialysis age and documented L-carnitine deficiency.