Effect of levocarnitine administration in patients with chronic liver disease

Ohashi,Kazuki; Ishikawa,Toru; Hoshii,Asami; Hokari,Tamaki; Suzuki,Mitsuyuki; Noguchi,Hirohito; Hirosawa,Hiroshi; Koyama,Fujiko; Kobayashi,Miki; Hirosawa,Shiori; Sugiyama,Kaede; Mitobe,Yuta; Yoshida,Toshiaki

doi:10.3892/etm.2020.9222

Effect of levocarnitine administration in patients with chronic liver disease

Authors:
- Kazuki Ohashi
- Toru Ishikawa
- Asami Hoshii
- Tamaki Hokari
- Mitsuyuki Suzuki
- Hirohito Noguchi
- Hiroshi Hirosawa
- Fujiko Koyama
- Miki Kobayashi
- Shiori Hirosawa
- Kaede Sugiyama
- Yuta Mitobe
- Toshiaki Yoshida
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Affiliations: Department of Nursing, Sapporo University of Health Sciences, Hokkaido, Sapporo 007‑0894, Japan, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Saiseikai Niigata Hospital, Niigata 950‑1104, Japan, Department of Medical Radiology, Saiseikai Niigata Hospital, Niigata 950‑1104, Japan, Department of Pharmacology, Saiseikai Niigata Hospital, Niigata 950‑1104, Japan, Department of Nursing, Saiseikai Niigata Hospital, Niigata 950‑1104, Japan, Department of Clinical Engineering, Saiseikai Niigata Hospital, Niigata 950‑1104, Japan, Department of Nutrition, Saiseikai Niigata Hospital, Niigata 950‑1104, Japan, Department of Nursing, Teikyo University, Faculty of Medical Technology, Tokyo 173‑0003, Japan
Published online on: September 16, 2020 https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2020.9222
Article Number: 94
Copyright: © Ohashi et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

L‑carnitine administration was reported to improve sarcopenia in patients with cirrhosis. However, the amount of evidence from previous studies is not sufficient. The present study aimed to clarify the effect of levocarnitine (L‑carnitine) administration on body composition in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD). In the present study, 85 patients with L‑carnitine administration and 87 control patients were enrolled and divided them into two groups, the L‑carnitine administration group (LAG, n=44) and the without L‑carnitine administration (controls, n=44) group, by using propensity score matching for age, sex, body mass index (BMI) and serum albumin. Δ skeletal muscle mass index (SMI)/year, Δ intramuscular adipose tissue content (IMAC)/year and Δ bone mineral density (BMD)/year were examined during L‑carnitine administration. Each parameter was measured by computed tomography (CT) or dual‑energy X‑ray absorptiometry. The median age overall was 69 years (IQR, 64.0, 75.0); 36 were men and 52 were women. The median SMI was 37.4 cm2/m2 (IQR, 34.01, 44.34). The initial CT scans showed similar median values of SMI for the two groups [37.74 (34.17, 43.58) and 37.16 (33.83, 44.34), P=0.67]. However, the median ΔSMI/year for the LAG and controls were 0.95% (‑3.07, 6.10) and ‑2.34% (‑5.34, 0.53), respectively (P=0.003). The median Δ whole body BMD/year for the LAG and controls were ‑0.24% (‑1.20, 0.91) and ‑1.04% (‑2.16, 0.47), respectively (P=0.038). The median ΔIMAC/year and Δ lumbar spine BMD were not significantly different between the LAG and controls. L‑carnitine administration may prevent the loss of skeletal muscle mass and BMD; therefore, it may be used as a new treatment option for osteoporosis and sarcopenia in patients with CLD.

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