Carnitine

Made from essential lysine and methionine (similar function as choline and BVit) • -Needs Iron, VitC, VitB6, and niacin to be made. • -Made in the liver, brain and kidneys. • -It has special transport proteins that take it into the heart, muscle, epididymis, liver and kidneys. In the heart it is concentrated in the sarcoplasmic reticulum. • -In semen it is 5x higher than in serum. • -Infants can’t synthesize it, it comes in breast milk. Fetal and cord blood levels very high. • Cases: CP/Sjogren’s/Lupus/ baby with cardiovascular surg.

• **Autoimmune disorders:** • Avoid gluten, milk and dairy • ID remove/ rotate food allergies • Treat infections • Gastric hypoacidity/Panc insufficiency • Omega 3 FAs Cod liver oil – 1 tbsp/d Or EPA/DHA 1000 – 1500mg each • Carnitine 1000mg • Enzymes 4-6 caps between meals • DHEA/ Rehmania formulas?/ • Testosterone/ hormones • VitC • Lipoic Acid

FX (Function): • -Transports fat into mitochondria for metabolic oxidation • -Brown fat is high in it, and it inc. heat via inc. beta oxidation • -Fasting and low carb diets up-regulates carnitine’s use of ketones and amino acids for energy production. • -Inc. prostaglandin production affecting smooth and skeletal muscle providing energy • -conversion of amino acids valine, leucine and isoleucine into energy

• -Decreases ketones in the body- diabetes • -Acetyl-L-Carnitine (ALC) takes fatty acids to mitochondria of nerve cells • -decreases younger dementia (30-60yo) patients’ memory problems • -vocabulary recall, visual / spatial capacity (2 grams/day x 3 mo) (AMR June 99) • -improves cooperation/sociability, personal attention, and cognitive performance (not in severe patients) • RDA: ? • Avg intake 5-100mg/d • Sources: only in animal products especially beef. • Deficiency in premies, TPN, starvation/fasting, and liver damage. Synthesis weak until age 15, 30% at age 2 ½, also patients with Duchennes muscular dystrophy and dialysis. • Sx: M.weakness, fatty deposits, impaired ketogenesis, with hyperlipidemia, and impaired glucose control, acute brain swelling, hypoglycemia, and heart disturbances. Deficiency can be fatal.

Tx:
1. Inc. Athletic performance 1-4gm/d • 2. CVD- increases exercise tolerance –1 gm tid • 3 Cardiomyopathy, arrhythmia, mitral valve prolapse, angina (1gm bid 4wks – reduces EKG instability), decreases IL2 • 5. CHF/Myocardial Infarction –decreased mortality 90%m 300mg 3x/d • 6. Hyperlipidemia- inc. ApolipA1, & B decreasing LDL • 7. CFIDS- improved 12/18 patients in 2 months • 8. Dialysis- mitigates SE – anemia, CVD, IRS, also chronic renal failure – reduces need for erythropoetin injection 38% • 9. ETOH- reduces hepatic steatosis, reduces cirrhosis, and toxicity if hepatotoxins • 10. Hyperthyroid – reduces 2-4-gm/d • 11. Male infertility – inc. sperm count, quality and motility • 12. Premies- normalizes breathing patterns, reducing SIDS • 13. Diabetes – helps circulation and improves CVD - • 14. Trauma- assist recovery • 15. Infants formula –especially formula fed vegetarians, prevents Reye’s syndrome • 16. Intermittent claudication 2gm/d x 3wkimproved walking distance; Propionyl-L-Carnitine worked too. • 17. Alzheimer’s – L-acetylcarnitine improves memory and depression • 18. AIDS- fatigue and muscle wasting reduced • 19. COPD • 20. Reyes syndrome 100mg/kg/d prevented progression – non- blinded study • 21. Mitral valve prolapse – 3gm/d improved sxs • 22. ADHD100mg/d/kg – Max 4gm/d reduced symptoms compared to controlls - double blind study • 23 Erectile dysfunction – ED – 2gm/d, x6 mo, more effective than testosterone, also enhanced viagra. • 24 increased fats taken into cells • 25. Chemotherapy - wasting of muscles

• **Toxicity**- very safe at high doses –L-form only– s/t see fishy smell, (can add riboflavin to prevent this) and heartburn • -Careful kidney disease and ? pregnancy • **Interactions:** • L-carnitine has synergism with Taurine, CoQ10, pantethine • Depletion of carnitine with Valproic A., Pivampicillin, emetine, sulfadiazine, Adriamycin, Lovestatin, Beta blockers and pyrimethamine, carnitine prevented gentamyacin hearing loss in animals • -Increases energy- weight loss, heart health, with CoQ10, Mg, E, Herbs that help circulation and neurogenesis • -Useful for athletes, immune fx, lactating women, infants, vegetarians (Increased heart disease in women vegetarians), elderly brain function • -Stress, reduces damage, decreasing aging • -**Stops autoimmune wasting diseases (Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, SLE, Sjogren’s)** • -Down-regulated thyroid hyperfunction. • MUSCLE DEVELOPMENT!