Abstract
We investigated serum total carnitine (TC), free carnitine (FC) and acyl-carnitine (AC) levels in 44 healthy subjects (23 males and 21 females) and 36 patients (24 males and 12 females) with different glomerulonephritides which had progressed to the end-stage renal failure, and who were undergoing regular haemodialysis. Patients displayed significantly lower serum carnitine levels, The mean pre-dialysis serum TC, FC, and AC levels were not significantly different from the means of healthy control serum TC, FC and AC (p < 0.1). However, after haemodialysis, a significant decrease in serum carnitine levels was observed as compared to the values in both pre-dialysis patients and healthy controls (p < 0.001). Serum TC, FC and AC levels in male healthy controls and male patients (or female health controls and female patients) showed no significant difference as compared with male pre-dialysis patients (or female pre-dialysis patients) (p < 0.01). However, after haemodialysis, serum TC, FC and AC levels of both genders were significantly lower than predialysis values (p < 0.001, p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively). After haemodialysis, the ratio of serum AC to FC was significantly higher as compared with both healthy controls and pre-dialysis patients (p < 0.001, and p < 0.01, respectively). Comparatively, the ratio of serum AC to FC was significantly higher after haemodialysis as compared with both male healthy controls) and (or female pre-dialysis patients) (p < 0.001 and p < 0.01, respectively).