Effects of levocarnitine in hemodialysis patients

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of levocarnitine chloride (L-cartine®, LC) on maintenance hemodialysis patients who received DA at 40 μg/week or rHuEPO at 9,000 U/week by examining the changes in serum carnitine levels during hemodialysis (study 1), and the treatment effects of LC on ESA-resistant anemia (study 2) and dialysis-associated muscle symptoms (study 3). In study 1, we monitored 100 patients. The average levels of total carnitine (TC) and free carnitine (FC) within one year after the introduction of dialysis were 57.9±18.2 and 38.8±13.6 μmol/L, respectively. At one year, however, these levels significantly decreased to 39.3±18.6 (TC) and 25.0±12.5 (FC) μmol/L (p