Epilepsy And L-Carnitine Deficiencies - An Overlooked Link
Recently, I’ve been doing a lot of research regarding L-carnitine and epilepsy. Because I think an L-carnitine deficiency could be affecting my daughter and her journey with managing seizures. We’ll get more into why I think this as the article goes on…
But I just wanted to share what I’ve been learning with you all, in case you’re also interested in the topic of L-carnitine and its relationship with epilepsy patients.
What is L-carnitine?
L-carnitine is an amino acid, and is a subtype of carnitine. There’s also acetyl-L-carnitine and propionyl-L-carnitine, which can actually be created within the body by converting L-carnitine.
What does it do?
The role of L-carnitine is mainly to transport fatty acids into cells, so that they can be converted into energy for the body. And it also removes toxins from the cells.
But some believe that L-carnitine can have the following effects as well…
Weight loss (not proven)
A boost in athletic performance (not proven)
More fertility (L-carnitine has been known to increase sperm motility; and help those with PCOS to ovulate, get pregnant, and carry these pregnancies to full term.)
Decreased chance for cardiovascular disease (not proven)
And a decreased chance for Alzheimer's Disease (not proven)
Where can it be found?
L-carnitine is naturally produced by the body, specifically in the liver, kidneys, and brain. And it’s mostly stored in the heart and the body’s skeletal muscles. In terms of the amount produced, the average person will produce about 0.16 to 0.48 mg per kg a day.
But L-carnitine can also be found in certain foods. Red meat is a great source of it; and it’s also found in other animal products like chicken and milk. Plus, it can be found in fish, beans, and avocado.
Lastly, there are quite a few L-carnitine supplements on the market. Which we’ll talk more about later.
What is an L-carnitine deficiency?
Now that we’ve covered what L-carnitine is, and why it’s important… Let's move onto what a deficiency could look like.
On average, the human body needs about 15 milligrams of carnitine per day. (This can come from within the body, or from outside sources.) Anything less than that isn’t ideal, but if the body dips to lower than 10% of the amount it needs… There can be serious side effects.
What are signs of an L-carnitine deficiency?
The symptoms of an L-carnitine deficiency are notoriously hard to spot, because they vary a lot depending on the person. With some people suffering from mild, or even severe, symptoms and others not displaying any signs of a deficiency at all!
But here are a few of the things you should be on the lookout for…
Fatigue
Irritability
Muscle weakness or a lack of muscle tone
Delayed motor development
Troubles with feeding (if the deficiency is in an infant)
Low blood sugar symptoms if the deficiency is affecting the liver
And shortness of breath and/or edema if the deficiency is affecting the heart
Who is at risk for an L-carnitine deficiency?
Some people are predisposed to have L-carnitine deficiencies, and they usually inherit this tendency from their parents. But both the parents have to have that gene and pass it down to their child, in order for the little one to be deficient.
Other than that, there are several health conditions that can put you at risk for an L-carnitine deficiency. Such as liver disease, kidney disease, and of course… epilepsy! Which is the entire reason I’m discussing this topic today.
How does epilepsy affect L-carnitine levels?
It’s been fairly well documented that individuals with epilepsy often struggle with L-carnitine deficiencies, but very little research has been done in terms of the “why”. So far though, experts assume it has to do with one of the following…
Metabolic diseases (which are actually the cause of epilepsy in some cases)
Nutritional deficiencies (which are also fairly common in epilepsy patients)
And/or certain medications that are often used to treat epilepsy, specifically those with valproic acid
Note - The ketogenic diet, which is something that many people use to treat epilepsy, can also cause a depletion of L-carnitine in the body. So this is yet another aspect of the link between epilepsy and L-carnitine.
The science behind this is simple. As I said earlier, carnitine is used by the body to transform fat into energy. And the entire point of the ketogenic diet is to get the body into a state of ketosis… where the only form of energy that it creates is from fat! So this means that during ketosis, the body needs a LOT of carnitine.
Obviously, this can cause a lack of L-carnitine in the body. To the point where some people need L-carnitine supplements to even enter ketosis. And speaking of…
How can you treat an L-carnitine deficiency?
You can raise L-carnitine through natural methods and supplementation. So I’ll quickly cover both in this section…
If you want to raise L-carnitine levels naturally then the best way to do so is by eating more L-carnitine rich foods. Such as the ones I mentioned earlier… red meats, fish, poultry, eggs, etc…
And if you want to raise L-carnitine through supplementation, there are many options to choose from! One of the most popular is definitely Levocarnitine, which comes in several forms. Some of which aren’t available with a prescription.
Of course, there are many other types of L-carnitine supplements on the market. Some are better than others, some can be purchased over the counter, and some can only be found with a subscription. But it’s important that you never try to treat a carnitine deficiency with any type of D-carnitine, as this will never be effective and could even be counterproductive in the process.
However… Even though many people find carnitine supplementation helpful, some say that L-carnitine supplements can actually increase seizure activity in people who have suffered from seizures before. In fact, this article by WedMD takes that stance. So that’s worth considering, if you are playing around with the idea.
Note - Liquid supplements are sometimes more effective than capsules, powder, etc… specifically when it comes to people who have a hard time absorbing nutrients. And liquid L-carnitine supplements are often only available with a prescription.
My Daughter’s Journey With L-Carnitine -
The link between valproic acid and L-carnitine levels is particularly fascinating to me, because my daughter is on Depakote (a valproate). In fact, the first time my daughter was put on the drug… her neurologist suggested we supplement her dosage with Levocarnitine to avoid a deficiency.
Unfortunately, this time around, her new neurologist refuses to write a prescription for L-carnitine or even test her levels. And personally… I think it’s having a negative effect on her health. So one of my goals in the future is to get her carnitine levels tested, and hopefully get her back on the supplement she was on as a child.
Because, although she was seizure free (and almost without symptoms from the medication) when she was little, she’s far from being seizure free this time around. Even on the same medicine. And one of the only differences is the lack of L-carnitine.
Conclusion
I feel as though we’re still on the surface of learning how L-carnitine relates to epilepsy and vice versa. So I think more research definitely needs to be done on the topic!
But I hope this article has helped clear some things up for any of you that have wondered about the link between the two. And I’ll add some of my sources for this article down below, including an interesting case study that was done on the topic.. For those of you that want to learn even more.
Sources
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6267633/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9821988/
https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/levocarnitine-oral-route-intravenous-route/description/drg-20064527#:~:text=Levocarnitine%20is%20used%20to%20prevent,%2C%20heart%2C%20and%20muscle%20problems.
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