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Effects of acetyl-l-carnitine in diabetic neuropathy and other geriatric disorders
- Publication Year :
- 2018
- Publisher :
- Springer International Publishing, 2018.
-
Abstract
- A long history of diabetes mellitus and increasing age are associated with the onset of diabetic neuropathy, a painful and highly disabling complication with a prevalence peaking at 50% among elderly diabetic patients. Acetyl-l-carnitine (ALC) is a molecule derived from the acetylation of carnitine in the mitochondria that has an essential role in energy production. It has recently been proposed as a therapy to improve the symptoms of diabetic neuropathy. ALC is widely distributed in mammalian tissues, including the brain, blood–brain barrier, brain neurons, and astrocytes. Aside from its metabolic activity, ALC has demonstrated cytoprotective, antioxidant, and antiapoptotic effects in the nervous system. It exerts an analgesic action by reducing the concentration of glutamate in the synapses. It facilitates nerve regeneration and damage repair after primary trauma: its positive effects on metabolism promote the synthesis, fluidity, and functionality of neuronal membranes, increase protein synthesis, and improve the axonal transport of neurofilament proteins and tubulin. It also amplifies nerve growth factor responsiveness, an effect that is believed to enhance overall neurite growth. ALC has been proposed for the treatment of various neurological and psychiatric diseases, such as mood disorders and depression, dementias, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease, because synaptic energy states and mitochondrial dysfunction are core factors in their pathogenesis. © 2017, Springer International Publishing Switzerland.
- Subjects :
- 0301 basic medicine
Nervous system
Aging
medicine.medical_specialty
Diabetic neuropathy
Pain
Neurotrophic effect
Acetyl-l-carnitine
Analgesia
Geriatrics and Gerontology
NO
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
Diabetic Neuropathies
Alzheimer Disease
Internal medicine
Diabetes mellitus
medicine
Humans
Carnitine
Acetylcarnitine
Acetyl-l-carnitine, Diabetic neuropathy, Analgesia, Neurotrophic effect
Aged
Analgesics
business.industry
Glutamate receptor
medicine.disease
Mitochondria
030104 developmental biology
Nerve growth factor
Endocrinology
medicine.anatomical_structure
Alzheimer's disease
business
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
medicine.drug
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....706c061aef0b5b534c069878d6c0c117