Abstract
We studied the effects of acetyl-L-carnitine on pain in 16 HIV+ patients affected by painful distal symmetrical neuropathy. Patients were treated with 0.5-1 gr per day of acetyl-L-carnitine either i.m. or i.v. for 3 weeks. Pain intensity was measured before and after the treatment by the Huskisson's analogic scale. Ten patients (62.5%) reported an improvement of symptoms, five patients (31.25%) were unchanged, one patient worsened. The results of this open study show that acetyl-L-carnitine can have a role in the treatment of pain in distal symmetrical polyneuropathy related to HIV infection. However, further double-blind, placebo-controlled studies are needed to confirm these preliminary results.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 250-252 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | Journal of the Peripheral Nervous System |
Volume | 2 |
Issue number | 3 |
Publication status | Published - 1997 |
Keywords
- Acetyl-L-carnitine
- AIDS
- Chronic pain
- HIV+ neuropathy
- Painful distal symmetrical polyneuropathy
- Peripheral neuropathy
- Therapy of peripheral neuropathies
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Clinical Neurology
- Neuroscience(all)