No significant effect was seen for waist circumference ( WC ) and body fat percent .
A non-linear dose-response association was seen between l-carnitine supplementation and body weight reduction ( P < 0.001 ) suggesting that ingestion of 2000 mg l-carnitine per day provides the maximum effect in adults .
This association was not seen for BMI , WC and body fat percent .
CONCLUSIONS l-carnitine supplementation provides a modest reducing effect on body weight , BMI and fat mass , especially among adults with overweight/obesity
BACKGROUND AND AIM Clinical evidence which investigated the effects of l-carnitine , a vitamin-like substance , on weight loss had led to inconsistent results .
This study therefore aim ed to examine the effect of l-carnitine supplementation on body weight and composition by including the maximum number of r and omized controlled trials ( RCTs ) and to conduct a dose-response analysis , for the first time .
Randomized phase III clinical trial of five different arms of treatment in 332 patients with cancer cachexia.
PURPOSE A phase III , r and omized study was carried out to establish the most effective and safest treatment to improve the primary endpoints of cancer cachexia-lean body mass ( LBM ) , resting energy expenditure ( REE ) , and fatigue- and relevant secondary endpoints : appetite , quality of life , grip strength , Glasgow Prognostic Score ( GPS ) and proinflammatory cytokines . PATIENTS AND METHODS Three hundred thirty-two assessable patients with cancer-related anorexia/cachexia syndrome were r and omly assigned to one of five treatment arms : arm 1 , medroxyprogesterone ( 500 mg/day ) or megestrol acetate ( 320 mg/day ) ; arm 2 , oral supplementation with eicosapentaenoic acid ; arm 3 , L-carnitine ( 4 g/day ) ; arm 4 , thalidomide ( 200 mg/day ) ; and arm 5 , a combination of the above . Treatment duration was 4 months . RESULTS Analysis of variance showed a significant difference between treatment arms . A post hoc analysis showed the superiority of arm 5 over the others for all primary endpoints . An analysis of changes from baseline showed that LBM ( by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and by L3 computed tomography ) significantly increased in arm 5 . REE decreased significantly and fatigue improved significantly in arm 5 . Appetite increased significantly in arm 5 ; interleukin (IL)-6 decreased significantly in arm 5 and arm 4 ; GPS and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status ( ECOG PS ) score decreased significantly in arm 5 , arm 4 , and arm 3 . Toxicity was quite negligible , and was comparable between arms . CONCLUSION The most effective treatment in terms of all three primary efficacy endpoints and the secondary endpoints appetite , IL-6 , GPS , and ECOG PS score was the combination regimen that included all selected agents
No significant effect was seen for waist circumference ( WC ) and body fat percent .
A non-linear dose-response association was seen between l-carnitine supplementation and body weight reduction ( P < 0.001 ) suggesting that ingestion of 2000 mg l-carnitine per day provides the maximum effect in adults .
This association was not seen for BMI , WC and body fat percent .
CONCLUSIONS l-carnitine supplementation provides a modest reducing effect on body weight , BMI and fat mass , especially among adults with overweight/obesity
BACKGROUND AND AIM Clinical evidence which investigated the effects of l-carnitine , a vitamin-like substance , on weight loss had led to inconsistent results .
This study therefore aim ed to examine the effect of l-carnitine supplementation on body weight and composition by including the maximum number of r and omized controlled trials ( RCTs ) and to conduct a dose-response analysis , for the first time .