Effects of l‐Carnosine Supplementation on Sleep Disorders and Disease Severity in Autistic Children: A Randomized, Controlled Clinical Trial

Abstract

Sleep disorders are frequently reported in autistic patients. Evidences suggest that increased oxidative stress and reduced antioxidants may play a major role in the pathogenesis of these disorders. Carnosine acts as an antioxidant, antitoxic and neuroprotective agent. The aim of this trial study was to examine the effects of carnosine supplementation on the sleep disorders and severity of autism core symptoms in autistic patients. In this double-blind, randomized clinical trial, 43 autistic patients (31 boys and 12 girls; aged 4 to 16 years) were divided into two groups of carnosine and control that received 500 mg of carnosine and 500 mg of placebo per day for 2 months, respectively. Sleep disorders were measured using Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaires. Gilliam Autism Rating Scale 2 was used to assess the effects of carnosine supplementation on the autism severity. Carnosine supplementation did not change anthropometric indices (p > 0.05) and showed no effect on autism severity (p > 0.05), whereas it significantly reduced sleep duration (p = 0.04), parasomnias (p = 0.02) and total sleep disorders score by 7.59% (p = 0.006) when compared with the control group. The results suggest that carnosine supplementation could be effective in improving sleep disturbances, in particular sleep duration and parasomnias subscales.

Histidine‐containing dipeptides reduce central obesity and improve glycaemic outcomes: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials

“…Of the 30 RCTs, four adopted a crossover design and the rest a parallel design. Two of the 30 studies were of children with one in patients with type 1 diabetes . All studies were published in English.…”

“…Thirteen studies were pooled for body weight ( n = 526), 3 for waist circumference ( n = 162), 11 for BMI ( n = 564), 4 for body fat ( n = 103), 2 for fat mass (FM) ( n = 144), and 2 for free fat mass (FFM) ( n = 63). Forest plots of the results are shown in Figure and in Supplemental Figures S1 –S5.…”

“…Pooling of 13 studies for body weight showed no significant difference between HCD and control groups (WMD [95% CI] = −0.03 kg [−1.76, 1.71], p = 0.9; P het = 0.8, I 2 = 0%) (Figure S1). The results remained nonsignificant in sensitivity analyses of the six studies with low risk of bias ( p = 0.9, I 2 =0%) and the seven studies which used carnosine ( p = 0.9, I 2 =0%), as well as when the two studies in children were excluded. Waist circumference …”

Immunological Dysfunction in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Potential Target for Therapy

“…They found improvement in the hyperactivity/noncompliance ABC subscale in the L-carnosine group. A recent placebo-controlled clinical trial using 500 mg of L-carnosine for 2 months observed positive reductions in the scores for sleep duration, parasomnia, and total sleep disorders, but no behavioral changes in ASD children [175]. N-acetylcysteine NAC is an orally bioavailable prodrug of cysteine known for its use in acetaminophene overdose [176].…”

Response to ‘Does l‐Carnitine Supplementation Improve Sleep Quality in Children with Autism?’

“…We thank Pereira et al for writing a Letter to the Editor entitled 'Does L-Carnitine supplementation improve sleep quality in children with autism? ', on the basis of the published original article by Mehrazad et al [1]. Below is the response to the letter.…”