What are the Benefits of Injectable Levocarnitine?

For different diseases, we need to use different drugs. Compared with oral medications, injectable drugs can take effect in the body faster. Levocarnitine, which is actually not very familiar to everyone, is mostly used in hemodialysis as an injectable drug. Additionally, levocarnitine can also improve myocardial ischemia, relieve angina pectoris, and has other functions. Its main efficacies and effects are introduced in detail below.

Levocarnitine is a naturally occurring substance essential for energy metabolism in mammals. Its main function is to promote lipid metabolism. It can bring long-chain fatty acids into mitochondrial matrix and promote their oxidative decomposition to provide energy for cells. At the same time, it can export short-chain acyl groups produced within mitochondria. Supplementation of this drug can alleviate disorders in fat metabolism and dysfunction of tissues such as skeletal muscle and myocardium caused by its deficiency in the body.

After a single oral dose of 0.5g, the maximum plasma concentration in healthy subjects is 48.5μmol/L. The biological half-life of levocarnitine in healthy subjects is approximately 2 to 15 hours, whether administered orally or intravenously at doses ranging from 0.5 to 2g. Levocarnitine does not bind to plasma proteins. The excretion pathway of levocarnitine depends on the route of administration. Approximately 7% is recovered in urine within 12 hours and approximately 8% within 24 hours after intravenous injection. For oral administration, 10% is recovered in urine.

For the prevention and treatment of levocarnitine deficiency, such as in chronic renal failure patients due to hemodialysis.

Oral administration, taken during meals. For adults, the recommended daily dose is 1g, divided into 2 to 3 doses. For children, the initial dose is 50mg per kg of body weight, and the dose can be gradually increased based on need and tolerance. The usual dose is 50 to 100mg per kg of body weight (with a maximum daily dose not exceeding 3g).

For patients with diabetes mellitus treated with insulin or oral hypoglycemic agents, the use of this drug may cause hypoglycemia due to improved glucose utilization. Therefore, these patients should maintain their blood sugar levels within the regularly controlled range during treatment.