Pharmacological treatment of patients with chronic critical limb ischemia: L-propionyl-carnitine enhances the short-term effects of PGE-1.

Abstract

PURPOSE:

To evaluate the therapeutic effects of L-propionyl-carnitine (LPC) in patients with critical limb ischemia (CLI), as defined by the TASC guidelines.

METHODS:

The study, double-blinded, randomised, assessed intravenous infusion of LPC 1.2 g/day in combination with PGE-1, 60 mg/day (LPC group: 37 patients), or PGE-1 only (control group: 38 patients) in a total of 75 patients suffering from CLI. Treatment duration was 20 days. We evaluated rest pain, maximum walking distance (MWD) and skin ulcer size.

RESULTS:

In both groups we observed a significant reduction in pain score and ulcer size and an increase in MWD. In the patients treated with the combination, the improvement was greater: median value for pain score decreased from 2.75 to 0.85 in the LPC group and from 2.51 to 1.71 in the control group; MWD increased from 55 M to 130 M in the LPC group, and from 55 M to 102 M in the control group; median decrease of ulcer size was significantly greater in patients treated with LPC + PGE1.

CONCLUSIONS:

Our study shows that LPC, whose effectiveness on claudication is already known, has favourable effects in patients with CLI, since it reinforces the effects produced by PGE-1.

• Authors: Glauco Milio, Giuseppina Novo, Caterina Genova, Piero Luigi Almasio, Salvatore Novo, Antonio Pinto
• Journal: Cardiovascular drugs and therapy (Cardiovasc Drugs Ther) Vol. 23 Issue 4 Pg. 301-6 (Aug 2009) ISSN: 1573-7241 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 19548076 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Randomized Controlled Trial)

Chemical References

• Cardiotonic Agents
• Vasodilator Agents
• propionylcarnitine
• Alprostadil
• Carnitine

Topics

• Aged
• Alprostadil (pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Cardiotonic Agents (pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Carnitine (analogs & derivatives, pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Chronic Disease
• Double-Blind Method
• Drug Synergism
• Drug Therapy, Combination
• Female
• Humans
• Infusions, Intravenous
• Ischemia (drug therapy, physiopathology)
• Leg (blood supply, pathology)
• Leg Ulcer (drug therapy, etiology)
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Pain (drug therapy, etiology)
• Treatment Outcome
• Vasodilator Agents (pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Walking