The 6-month study, published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Autism Spectrum Disorders, provided L-carnitine to participants ranging from 2 to 8 years of age and assessed results using CARS (childhood autism rating scale). CARS is a 15-item scale of criteria such as interaction (both verbal and nonverbal), object usage, anxiety and nervousness, and interpersonal relationships. The scale was developed to describe autism and quantitatively identify symptom severity. Researchers concluded that counseling greatly increased those scores in the participants receiving the supplement.
The researchers, affiliated with the pharmacy and medical faculties at Ain Shams University in Cairo, added that autism is a worldwide problem, with a reported prevalence ranging from 6:1000 in Saudi Arabia to 1:1000 in Israel, to 1:100 in the United States, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control. Autism patients also have an average lifespan, researchers said. Taking this into account, they said, “As regards the amount of’ patient-years,’ ASD patients reflect a patient population as large as Alzheimer’s disease, the other major neurological disorder. Given the strong unmet medical need, there is currently no accepted successful systematic treatment.”
Field experts believe a mixture of genetic, environmental and immunological factors affects autism. Recent research suggests autism patients are further vulnerable to oxidative stress associated with mitochondrial dysfunction.
Some autistic children demonstrated evidence of mitochondrial dysfunction, the researchers said, supported by altered brain energy metabolism, decreased cellular energetic and impaired mitochondrial energy reserve capacity.
Details of the Study done
The double-blind, placebo-controlled analysis recruited 30 subjects, ranging from 29 to 108 months. They were randomly allocated to either a 16-memberor14-member control group. The daily dosage was set at 100mg per kilogram of body weight per day, given in glucose syrup in equal morning and evening doses. A clinical pharmacist explained the materials to work participants and dosing instructions.
A single researcher administered the CARS test, unaware of whether subjects were members of the placebo or supplementation groups. Ain Shams University Hospital conducted blood tests and CARS evaluations at ambulatory pediatrics clinics. Free and total blood carnitine levels were measured 3 and 6 months using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.
Additional Studies needed.
The lab conducting these experiments further concealed the subjects ‘ medical status. The researchers concluded that there was substantial progress in the CARS scores of participants (P-groups <0.001) and (P-overtime=0.006), with statistically significant differences in free carnitine levels (P = 0.027) and total carnitine levels (P = 0.036). There was no connection between baseline free and total carnitine levels with shifts in CARS scores from nil to 6 months.
L-carnitine therapy was generally well-tolerated, they said. But, they noted, since there was no correlation between calculated blood L-carnitine levels and changes in CARS scores they could not derive blood or clinical predictors from patients who could be eligible for L-carnitine therapy. Those findings were consistent with promising outcomes in other recent L-carnitine autism treatment studies, which showed improvement in some of autism’s mental and physical symptoms nevertheless not, generally, in language use impairments.
The Egyptian researchers noted that their study did not elucidate an action mechanism for L-carnitine’s observed effects, and they also said the dosage used was derived from earlier trials and may not be optimal. Supported more research to explore these variables.
