A Cross-Sectional Prospective Study of Low Serum L-carnitine Level Associated with Peripheral Arterial Stiffness in Renal Transplant Recipients. (July 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lee, Ming-Che; Lai, Yu-Hsien; Hou, Jia-Sian; Liu, Chin-Hung; Hsu, Bang-Gee
• Is Part Of: Transplantation. Volume 102(2018)Supplement 7S-1
• Publication Date: 2018-07
• Subjects: Transplantation of organs, tissues, etc -- Periodicals; Transplantation immunology -- Periodicals; 617.95
• DOI: 10.1097/01.tp.0000543577.00368.49
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0041-1337

Abstract

Abstract : Introduction: L-carnitine is an important co-factor in fatty acid metabolism by mitochondria and L-carnitine deficiency is associated with insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is an independent association with arterial stiffness. The present study evaluated the relationship between fasting serum L-carnitine level and peripheral arterial stiffness (PAS) in renal transplant recipients. Materials and Methods: Fasting blood samples were collected from 65 renal transplant recipients. In this study, we applied an automatic pulse wave analyzer (VaSera VS-1000) to measure the brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), A baPWV value greater than 14.0 m/s on either side was considered high PAS. Serum L-carnitine was performed with high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. Results: Thirty-six renal transplant recipients (55.4%) had high PAS, and they included a higher percentage of patients with diabetes (P = 0.001), hypertension (P = 0.033), metabolic syndrome (P = 0.044), older age (P < 0.041), and a higher renal transplant duration (P = 0.025), waist circumference (P = 0.010), systolic blood pressure (P = 0.002), serum triglyceride (P = 0.040), insulin (P = 0.002), and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR, P = 0.002), while lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P = 0.036), and serum L-carnitine levels (P < 0.001) compared with renal transplant recipients without PAS. After adjusting for factors significantly associated with PAS in these patients by multivariate logistic regression analysis, renal transplant duration (Odds ratio (OR): 1.028, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.003–1.054, P = 0.029) and serum L-carnitine levels (OR: 0.916, 95% CI: 0.842–0.998, P = 0.044) was independently associated with PAS in renal transplant recipients. The area under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve indicates the diagnostic power of L-carnitine at predicting PAS of renal transplant recipients was 0.789 (95% CI: 0.670-0.881, P < 0.001). Conclusion: The serum fasting L-carnitine level is negatively associated with PAS in renal transplant patients. Figure. No caption available.