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Effect of l-Carnitine Supplementation on Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review.

  • 2024-02-22
  • Molecular nutrition & food research 68(8)
    • Haiyang Kou
    • Bo Li
    • Zhili Wang
    • Jianbing Ma

Study Design

Type
Meta-Analysis
Sample size
n = 619
Population
619 patients with osteoarthritis (OA)
Methods
Systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs using computer searches of PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science; Cochrane Handbook risk of bias assessment tool RevMan 5.4 software used for meta-analysis
  • Rigorous Journal

Scope

Comprehensive assessment of l-carnitine's safety and effectiveness in reducing inflammatory markers in osteoarthritis (OA) patients.

Methods and results

Journal articles on l-carnitine for OA are gathered using computer searches of PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. The kind of literature that is found is restricted to clinical randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The Cochrane Handbook risk of bias assessment tool RevMan 5.4 software is used to conduct a meta-analysis. The systematic assessment comprises eight trials totaling 619 patients; the included studies' quality is mediocre. The study's findings demonstrate that OA patients' Western Ontario and McMaster University (WOMAC) function improves and that treatment efficacy outperforms that of the control group (mean difference [MD] = -7.75, 95% CI [-14.63, -0.86]; Z = 2.21; p = 0.03), WOMAC total (MD = -10.24, 95% CI [-18.97, -1.51]; Z = 2.30; p = 0.02), and visual analogue scale (VAS) pain (MD = -14.01, 95% CI [-16.16, -11.85]; Z = 12.74; p < 0.00001). The studies that are methodically reviewed also discover heterogeneity, which may have resulted from the created pooled data and requires more analysis.

Conclusion

In patients with OA, l-carnitine effectively decreases clinical signs and symptoms, inflammatory markers, pain, and stiffness indicators, and significantly improves WOMAC and VAS scores.

Research Insights

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