Assessment of L-Carnitine effect in asthma control: A triple blind study

Introduction: Asthma is a global common disease with remarkable morbidity and mortality. Despite advances in its medical treatment some patients may have persistentsymptoms with little effect of therapies on disease process. The aim of study was to investigate the effect of treatment with L-Carnitine as new agent on the controlof asthma. Materials and Methods: We included asthmatic patients (clinical examination and spirometry test criteria) with age of 18-80 years old. Exclusion criteria included lung diseases other than asthma, systemic diseases, lung infection in the previous month, medications that affect the level of L-Carnitine and adverse effects of L-Carnitine. Participants were randomly assigned into two groups. The study was performed triple-bind. Sample size was determined by 80 patients (40 case and 40 control groups). Case group was treated with L-Carnitine (2 grams daily) and control group with placebo. The duration of study was 12 weeks. In the beginning and the end of study all patientwere tested by spirometry. ACT questionnaire was completed every four weeks. Results: FEV1, daytimes and nocturnal attacks improved significantly in L-Carnitine group. Despite improvement in ACT scores in both groups there was no significant difference between case and control groups. Conclusion: According to our results we can recommend use L-Carnitine supplement for asthmatic patients. Further studies are needed for assessment of its effect in different asthma phenotypes with different degrees of severity, and identification of its ideal dose.

کلیدواژه ها:

Asthma ، Asthma Control Test ، L-Carnitine ، Spirometry.