Table 1 |
|||
| Characteristics of the study population (n = 72) at baseline visit of the study (mean ± SEM) | |||
| Parameter | L-Carnitine (n = 38) | Placebo (n = 34) | |
| gender | male | 20 (52.6%) | 23 (67.6%) |
| female | 18 (47.4%) | 11 (32.4%) | |
| mean age | 64.4 ± 1.67 | 64.4 ± 1.65 | |
| Karnofsky performance status | 76.8 ± 1.87 | 80.0 ± 2.16 | |
| Nutritional Status | |||
| normal BMI (kg/m²) | 28.0 ± 1.01 | 30.1 ± 0.84 | |
| baseline visit BMI (kg/m²) | 24.7 ± 0.65 | 24.9 ± 0.89 | |
| Phase angle (°) | 4.4 ± 0.16 | 4.4 ± 0.17 | |
| Weight loss* | present | 34 (89.5%) | 31 (91.2%) |
| absent | 4 (10.5%) | 3 (8.8%) | |
| meanweight loss (kg)* | 11.4 ± 1.28 | 12.3 ± 1.56 | |
| Nutritional support | none | 20 (52.6%) | 21 (61.8%) |
| oral | 14 (36.8%) | 9 (26.5%) | |
| Parenteral nutrition | 4 (10.5%) | 4 (11.7%) | |
| ECM/BCM index ** | 1.5 ± 0.11 | 1.4 ± 0 | |
| Cell percentage (%) | 41.8 ± 1.22 | 42.70 ± 1.21 | |
| chemotherapy (n) 35 (92%) 30 (88%) | |||
| Laboratory values | |||
| L-Carnitine level (μmol/l) | 25.3 ± 2.29 | 24. 8 ± 2.11 | |
| Albumine (g/l) | 33.8 ± 1.09 | 33.7 ± 1.20 | |
| CRP (mg/l) | 31.3 ± 6.55 | 45.5 ± 10.39 | |
| Leucocytes (Gpt/l) | 8.3 ± 0.83 | 6.9 ± 0.46 | |
| CA 19–9 (U/ml) | 14,095 ± 32,572 | 18,345 ± 35,950 | |
No statistically significant differences were observed between L-Carnitine and placebo group.
*weight loss during the last 6 month.
**ECM/BCM-Index, Extra-Cellular-Mass/Body-Cell-Mass-Index.
Kraft et al. Nutrition Journal 2012 11:52 doi:10.1186/1475-2891-11-52
