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Effect of combination therapy of hydroxyurea with l-carnitine and magnesium chloride on hematologic parameters and cardiac function of patients with beta-thalassemia intermedia
Plain-language guide to PMID 19799627 (2010): double-blind randomized controlled trial study of L-Carnitine.
Key Facts
- PMID
- 19799627
- Journal
- European journal of haematology
- Year
- 2010
- Study type
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Authors
- Karimi M et al. (7 authors)
- DOI
- 10.1111/j.1600-0609.2009.01356.x
What This Study Did, in Plain Language
What Was Tested
Researchers studied L-Carnitine in this randomized controlled trial publication.
L-Carnitine and magnesium have antioxidant properties.
They have the potential to stimulate production of fetal hemoglobin and stabilize the RBC membrane, respectively.
Who Took Part
The age groups tagged for this paper are young children, children, teenagers, young adults and adults, both men and women.
One-hundred-and-twenty patients with thalassemia intermedia (range, 4-35 yr; mean, 19 +/- 6.4 yr) who had no need for blood transfusion or requirement for blood transfusion with an interval of >6 months were randomly selected.
All patients had been on hydroxyurea for >6 months.
How the Study Was Run
The design is described as randomized and double-blind.
Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got L-Carnitine and who got the comparison, which limits bias.
As a double-blind L-Carnitine study, the assignments were hidden from both participants and investigators until the end.
They were randomly divided into four groups: group A (hydroxyurea alone); group B (hydroxyurea and l-carnitine); group C (hydroxyurea and magnesium chloride); and group D (hydroxyurea, l-carnitine and magnesium chloride).
What Was Measured
The researchers assessed the effect of combination therapy of hydroxyurea with l-carnitine and magnesium chloride on hematologic parameters and cardiac function of patients with beta-thalassemia intermedia.
Topics PubMed links to this paper include Blood Urea Nitrogen, Carnitine, Creatinine, Erythrocyte Indices, Fetal Hemoglobin, Heart and Heart Function Tests.
What This Means in Plain Language
The paper is a randomized and double-blind study of L-Carnitine.
Results are reported in around 3 sentences of the abstract; we leave them to the paper itself rather than summarise them.
The publication is from 2010 (European journal of haematology), a journal based in England.
More context: the L-Carnitine compound page, all human trials.
Our Notes on the Compound
L-Carnitine: An amino acid derivative that carries fatty acids into mitochondria for energy production.
Related Pages
Source: PubMed record. This explanation is written by PeptideWhiz from the public record. For research and education only. Not medical advice; no dosing information is given.