Supplementation with carnitine reduces the severity of constipation: A retrospective study of patients with severe motor and intellectual disabilities

Supplementation with carnitine reduces the severity of constipation: A retrospective study of patients with severe motor and intellectual disabilities

Murata S; Inoue K; Aomatsu T; Yoden A; Tamai H

Journal of Clinical Biochemistry and Nutrition

2017

cerebral palsy; enteric feeding; clinical trial; endogenous compound; sex difference; human tissue; intellectual impairment; school child; preschool child; gene expression; medical record review; human; article; child; female; male; controlled study; adult; clinical article; young adult; hospital; middle aged; disease severity; retrospective study; body mass; cholesterol/ec [Endogenous Compound]; infantile spasm; neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis; clobazam/dt [Drug Therapy]; clonazepam/dt [Drug Therapy]; carnitine; carnitine deficiency/dt [Drug Therapy]; carnitine/dt [Drug Therapy]; constipation; constipation/dt [Drug Therapy]; constipation/pc [Prevention]; diet supplementation; motor dysfunction; 102767-28-2 (levetiracetam); 1069-66-5 (valproic acid); 1309-48-4 (magnesium oxide); 1317-74-4 (magnesium oxide); 14093-02-8 (iron); 14378-32-6 (zinc); 146-22-5 (nitrazepam); 1622-61-3 (clonazepam); 22316-47-8 (clobazam); 298-46-4 (carbamazepine); 461-06-3 (carnitine); 50-06-6 (phenobarbital); 53858-86-9 (iron); 541-15-1 (carnitine); 56-99-5 (carnitine); 57-30-7 (phenobarbital); 57-88-5 (cholesterol); 59-30-3 (folic acid); 6484-89-5 (folic acid); 68291-97-4 (zonisamide); 7439-89-6 (iron); 7440-66-6 (zinc); 7782-49-2 (selenium); 8028-68-0 (phenobarbital); 8047-84-5 (carbamazepine); 84057-84-1 (lamotrigine); 99-66-1 (valproic acid); acute brain disease; albumin; albumin blood level; anticonvulsant therapy; bacterial meningitis; bed rest; brain infarction; carbamazepine/dt [Drug Therapy]; carnitine deficiency; carnitine deficiency/dt [Drug Therapy]; cholesterol blood level; constipation/dt [Drug Therapy]; copper blood level; cupric ion/ec [Endogenous Compound]; enema/dt [Drug Therapy]; epilepsy/dt [Drug Therapy]; folic acid; folic acid blood level; folic acid/ec [Endogenous Compound]; groups by age; iron blood level; iron/ec [Endogenous Compound]; lamotrigine/dt [Drug Therapy]; levetiracetam/dt [Drug Therapy]; magnesium oxide/dt [Drug Therapy]; nitrazepam/dt [Drug Therapy]; Pelizaeus Merzbacher disease; periventricular leukomalacia; phenobarbital/dt [Drug Therapy]; prealbumin; prealbumin/ec [Endogenous Compound]; selenium blood level; selenium/ec [Endogenous Compound]; trace element; tuberous sclerosis; valproic acid; valproic acid/dt [Drug Therapy]; zinc/ec [Endogenous Compound]; zonisamide/dt [Drug Therapy]; constipation; NCL3; Pelizaeus- Merzbacher disease; tuberous sclerosis; West syndrome; pharmacologic intervention; Carnitine

Carnitine is an essential nutrient for the mitochondrial transport of fatty acids. Carnitine deficiency causes a variety of symptoms in multiple organs. Patients with severe motor and intellectual disabilities often have carnitine deficiency. This study aimed to determine the correlation between constipation and carnitine deficiency in them. Patients with severe motor and intellectual disabilities at our hospital were retrospectively reviewed. The correlation between level of free carnitine and severity of constipation was examined. Constipation and non-constipation groups were compared for age; sex; body mass index; bed rest period; use of anti-epileptic drugs, valproate sodium, or enteral nutrition; and serum levels of albumin, pre-albumin, totalcholesterol, free carnitine, folic acid, and trace elements. Moreover, severity of constipation before and after carnitine supplementation was assessed. Twenty-seven patients were enrolled. Of these, 14 were assigned to the constipation group and 13 to the non-constipation group. The free carnitine level was significantly correlated with severity of constipation (R = 0.7604, p<0.01). Free carnitine was significantly lower in the constipation compared with the non-constipation group (p<0.01). No other significant differences between the groups were found. The severity of constipation was significantly relieved after carnitine supplementation (p<0.001). In conclusion, carnitine supplementation could reduce the severity of constipation. Copyright © 2017 JCBN.

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