Nutraceuticals and nootropics for anti-aging

Acetyl-L-carnitine counteracts diabetic symptoms in clinical trials

Acetyl-L-carnitine (‘ALC’ or ‘ALCar’) is a nutritional supplement that supplies carnitine in a bioavailable form.

Carnitine plays a number of roles in the body, but one of its most interesting roles is serving as a shuttle for fatty acids. Cells obtain part of their energy supply from fatty acids — the fatty acid molecules are pulled apart and some of the energy contained in their broken bonds is extracted and stored for later use. This extraction process takes place inside cell structures called ‘mitochondria’. But certain classes of fatty acid molecules cannot pass through the outer walls of mitochondria without first being attached to carnitine molecules. Carnitine thus acts as a shuttle across the mitochondrial wall.

ALC supplements have been in the news in recent years because of experiments done at the University of California. Certain biochemical processes associated with aging were shown to proceed at a slower rate in rats fed a diet containing ALC and alpha-lipoic acid (ALA). In fact, high doses of ALC + ALA actually seemed to rejuvenate the experimental rats.

Because of these and other experiments, ALC is the now the focus of a great deal of research. One line of work involves diabetes and its symptoms. A recent issue of the journal Diabetes Care reports on two clinical trials in which ALC is used as a treatment for diabetic neuropathy — the painful nerve damage that often accompanies type 2 diabetes. Subjects given fairly high doses of ALC (500-1000 mg three times daily) reported significantly reduced pain from diabetic neuropathy. The researchers believe that the treatment induces nerve regeneration.

Link to news report:

Carnitine compound eases diabetic nerve pain

Link to abstract of research report:

Acetyl-L-carnitine improves pain, nerve regeneration, and vibratory perception in patients with chronic diabetic neuropathy.

---

Other researchers have reported that ALC improves glucose utilization in diabetics.

Link to abstract of research report:

Carnitine in type 2 diabetes.

---

LifeLink carries Acetyl-L-Carnitine in 500 mg capsules.