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Related Experiment Videos

Serum carnitine and disabling fatigue in multiple sclerosis

T Fukazawa1, H Sasaki, S Kikuchi

  • 1Hokuyukai Neurology Hospital, Sapporo, Japan.

Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences
|December 1, 1996
PubMed
Summary

This study found no link between carnitine levels and fatigue in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Carnitine deficiency and mitochondrial dysfunction do not appear to cause MS-related fatigue.

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Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Neurology
  • Metabolic Disorders

Background:

  • Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurological disease.
  • Fatigue is a common and debilitating symptom in MS patients.
  • The underlying mechanisms of MS-related fatigue are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate potential carnitine-related fatty acid metabolic abnormalities in skeletal muscle mitochondria as a cause of MS fatigue.
  • To compare serum concentrations of total, free, and acylcarnitine in MS patients and healthy controls.

Main Methods:

  • Serum carnitine levels (total, free, acylcarnitine) were measured using an enzymatic cycling method.
  • 25 MS patients were compared to age- and sex-matched healthy controls.
  • MS patients were subgrouped based on the presence or absence of excessive fatigue.

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Main Results:

  • No significant differences in total, free, or acylcarnitine levels were observed between MS patients and controls.
  • Acylcarnitine levels were similar in MS patients and controls, unlike findings in chronic fatigue syndrome.
  • No carnitine level differences were found between MS patients with and without excessive fatigue.

Conclusions:

  • Acylcarnitine deficiency and mitochondrial fatty acid metabolic dysfunction are unlikely contributors to excessive fatigue in multiple sclerosis.
  • Further research is needed to identify the causes of fatigue in MS patients.