Altered carnitine metabolism in dialysis patients with reduced physical function may be due to dysfunctional fatty acid oxidation.

Background: It has been reported that hemodialysis patients have elevated plasma acylcarnitine concentrations, which correlates to reduced red blood cell integrity. It has also been reported that the supplementation of L-carnitine for these patients improves anemia, glucose metabolism and muscle function, but the mechanism of these relationships remains unknown. We hypothesized that the cause of increased plasma acylcarnitines is incomplete fatty acid oxidation and the underlying disturbance of metabolism reduces muscle function, resulting in decreased ability to function and quality of life, and glucose availability, resulting in decreased red blood cell integrity and worsened anemia.