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01.10.2021

Carnitine versus autism | Higher dose, longer administration period, better results

A few days ago, we wrote that supplementing with carnitine can alleviate autism. However, the effect was not large, according to that study. This changes if you increase the dose and lengthen the supplementation period.

Study
Researchers from Ain Shams University in Egypt divided 30 children aged 2-8 with some form of autism into 2 groups. For 5 months, one group received a daily placebo and the other a daily liquid carnitine supplement that provided 100 milligrams of carnitine per kilogram of body weight.

The researchers used Carnitol, a product of Global Napi Pharmaceuticals.

Results
In the supplementation group, the mean CARS score decreased by 8 points. The average study participant in the supplementation group had severe autism before L-carnitine was given. The supplementation resulted in mild-moderate autism.

You can read more about the CARS score here.

In the first 3 months of the Egyptian trial, the average autism score decreased by 7.1 percent. In the full 6 months that the trial lasted, the score decreased by 18 percent.

In the American trial from 2011 that we wrote about a few weeks ago, a three-month supplementation with 50 milligrams of carnitine per kilo per day reduced the CARS score by 2 points. The Egyptian trial makes it plausible that the effect of carnitine on autism in children is strengthened by increasing the dose and extending the duration of administration.

Conclusion
"It is suggested that future studies further explore additional dosing regimens to identify the potential optimal dosing level or range of L-carnitine for subjects diagnosed with an autism, to help to further elucidate the biological basis for L-carnitine's mode of action at the cellular level, and also to identify mitochondrial dysfunction biomarkers for those patients diagnosed with an autism that would most benefit from L-carnitine therapy", write the researchers.

"It is recommended that L-carnitine supplements may be given as part of autism treatment regimen due to lack of specific parameters to predict response to L-carnitine intake."

Source:
Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders 7 (2013) 159-66.

More:
Carnitine reduces autism 29.09.2021
L-Carnitine reduces ADHD symptoms 01.03.2014

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