Carnitine May Reduce Fatigue From Disease and Aging

Tiredness is common in tumor patients after treatments from chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and poor nutrition. Low carnitine levels can contribute to this fatigue. Carnitine has been seen to help improve mood and quality of sleep while diminishing fatigue. Inside one study, terminal malignancy patients received 250 milligrams of carnitine 3 times a day and as a result, improved tiredness and quality of life.

Patients with kidney disease often times have anemia, a condition in which red blood are deformed. The deformity prevents the blood cells from carrying enough oxygen to the body’s tissues, creating fatigue. A study next dialysis patients found that carnitine supplements reduced red blood cell deformity and increased overall red blood vessels cell count in 3 months.

Another study on dialysis patients found that carnitine injections helped support higher levels of air use (improved endurance), such as during exercise, and also reduced overall tiredness.

In a study of elderly subjects, L-carnitine treatment reduced physical fatigue, emotional fatigue, or severity of fatigue. L-carnitine treatment also triggered reduced muscle pain and improved cognitive functionality.

Feeding acetyl-l-carnitine and lipoic acid to old rodents synergistically and significantly increased metabolic function while lowering oxidative stress.