Oral carnitine supplementation reduces body weight and insulin resistance in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
Authors: Mehri Jamilian
Banafsheh Tajbakhsh
Mansooreh Samimi
Zatollah Asemi
Maryam Rahimi
Faraneh Afshar Ebrahimi
Journal: Clinical Endocrinology (2016)
Discipline: CLINICAL MEDICINE
Keywords: oral carnitine supplementation; weight loss; metabolic profiles; polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS); glycaemic control
Affiliations: Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics; School of Medicine; Kashan University of Medical Sciences; Kashan Iran, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics; School of Medicine; Arak University of Medical Sciences; Arak Iran, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics; School of Medicine; Iran University of Medical Sciences; Tehran Iran, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics; School of Medicine; Yasouj University of Medical Sciences; Yasouj Iran, Research Center for Biochemistry and Nutrition in Metabolic Diseases; Kashan University of Medical Sciences; Kashan Iran

Abstract:  Objective: Limited data are available for evaluating the effects of oral carnitine supplementation on weight loss and metabolic profiles of women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). This study was designed to determine the effects of oral carnitine supplementation on weight loss, and glycaemic and lipid profiles in women with PCOS. Design, patients and measurements: In a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 60 overweight patients diagnosed with PCOS were randomized to receive either 250 mg carnitine supplements (n = 30) or placebo (n = 30) for 12 weeks. Fasting blood samples were obtained at the beginning and the end of the study to quantify parameters of glucose homoeostasis and lipid concentrations. Results: At the end of the 12 weeks, taking carnitine supplements resulted in a significant reduction in weight (-2·7 ± 1·5 vs +0·1 ± 1·8 kg, P &lt; 0·001), BMI (-1·1 ± 0·6 vs +0·1 ± 0·7 kg/m(2) , P &lt; 0·001), waist circumference (WC) (-2·0 ± 1·3 vs -0·3 ± 2·0 cm, P &lt; 0·001) and hip circumference (HC) (-2·5 ± 1·5 vs -0·3 ± 1·8 cm, P &lt; 0·001) compared with placebo. In addition, compared with placebo, carnitine administration in women with PCOS led to a significant reduction in fasting plasma glucose (-0·38 ± 0·36 vs +0·11 ± 0·97 mmol/l, P = 0·01), serum insulin levels (-14·39 ± 25·80 vs +3·01 ± 37·25 pmol/l, P = 0·04), homoeostasis model of assessment-insulin resistance (-0·61 ± 1·03 vs +0·11 ± 1·43, P = 0·04) and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (-3·64 ± 7·00 vs -0·59 ± 3·20 μmol/l, P = 0·03). Conclusions: Overall, 12 weeks of carnitine administration in PCOS women resulted in reductions in weight, BMI, WC and HC, and beneficial effects on glycaemic control; however, it did not affect lipid profiles or free testosterone. 

Retracted: No

PubPeer comments:
 There are many concerns about the integrity of 172 publications by this research group, including this one. Some of the concerns are published 1. Anaesthesia 2020;75:1683u201392, see Supplementary data. This paper is A74 2. Account Res 2020;28:149-61. 3. J Clin Epidemiol 2021;131:22-29. Journals and publishers were notified of these concerns in July 2019. 23 publications have an expression of concern. To our knowledge there has been no public response about any of the concerns. We think these publications are unreliable ,