Multicenter clinical placebo‐controlled study with acetyl‐l‐carnitine (LAC) in the treatment of mildly demented elderly patients

Abstract

Acetyl-I-carnitine (LAC) was administered for 3 months, 2 gidaily, to 30 elderly patients with mild mental deterioration. Results were compared to those of a homogeneous control group of 28 patients treated with placebo. The study was carried out according to a double-blind, randomized methodology. A complete battery of rating scales and psychometric tests was used for for evaluating the modifications induced by either drug or placebo. The statistical evaluation of results showed a sufficient clear efficacy of the drug studied: results from patients on LAC were frequently different from those receiving placebo. Therefore, LAC must be taken into consideration as a useful drug for the global treatment of demented elderly patients.

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“…ST200 was chosen as the reference drug since consistent evidence exists about its efficacy in improving cognitive functions in SDAT (Calvani & Carta 1991;Cucinotta et al 1988;Parnetti et al 1990;Rai et al 1990). …”

Therapeutic Uses of Amino Acids

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Effect of Acetyl-<i>L</i>-Carnitine on Serum Levels of Cortisol and Adrenocorticotropic Hormone and Its Clinical Effect in Patients with Senile Dementia of Alzheimer Type

“…Placebo-controlled trials have shown the efficacy of ALC in improving the cognitive performance of patients suffering from senile dementia of Alzheimer type (SDAT) [11,12]. When looking at the pathogenetic as pects of the disease, emphasis is nowadays put on neu roendocrine alterations, and particularly on the dysregulation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, a common finding in Alzheimer's disease [13].…”