Does administration of L-carnitine improve anaemia?
Many years ago in an uncontrolled study, Albertazzi et al. [23] reported that the haematocrit increased from 23.1±5.32% to 26.5±4.36% after administration of 1 g/day carnitine per os for 6 months in 12 haemodialysis patients. Similar results were found in a second study of 11 haemodialysis patients who were dialysed with a dialysate containing 100 µmol/l L-carnitine. These results were subsequently confirmed in double-blind, placebo-controlled studies by Bellinghieri et al. [10]. A persistent long-lasting effect of carnitine administration was also noted in a placebo-controlled study by Trovato et al. [14]; a continuous increase in haematocrit was noted from 25.5±1.43% to 37.4±2.2% during 12 months of administration of L-carnitine. During the same interval haematocrit decreased in the placebo-controlled group from 24.0±3.58% to 21.8±3.15%. The increase in haematocrit was paralleled by a progressive increase in absolute reticulocyte count by 40 60% in the carnitine, but not in the place
