Bianchi, G., Vitali, A., Caraceni, A., Ravaglia, S., Capri, G., Cundari, S., . . . Gianni, L. (2005). Symptomatic and neurophysiological responses of paclitaxel or cisplatin-induced neuropathy to oral acetyl-L-carnitine. European Journal of Cancer, 41(12), 1746–1750.
Oral acetyl L-carnitine (ALC) was given at 1 g three times per day for eight weeks.
The study had a non-randomized clinical trial design.
Twenty patients had neuropathy attributed to paclitaxel and five from cisplatin. Six of the 25 were receiving a taxane at enrollment; the remaining 18 patients has persistent neuropathy at enrollment. Sensory neuropathy improved in 15 patients and motor neuropathy improved in 11. In addition, sensory and motor action potentials (SNAP and CMAP) improved significantly in 21 patients and CMAP improved in 12 patients (non-significant). Twenty-three patients had amelioration of the TNS score, and one patient (receiving concomitant vinorelbine) worsened. Patients showed improved bulbar and limb muscle weakness and sensory disturbance scores after eight weeks of ALC. No change in autonomic symptoms was observed. All patients had normalization of motor strength, deep tendon reflexes, and vibration.