Medical Terminology

carnitine

Carnitine is a substance that our bodies make in our liver and kidneys. It is then stored in our skeletal muscles, heart, brain, and sperm. Carnitine helps to turn fat into energy (via fatty-acid oxidation). Our bodies usually make enough carnitine to satisfy all of our needs, but some people don’t have enough carnitine because their bodies either can’t make enough or can’t transport the carnitine into tissues so it can be used. In a 2013 study involving 30 people with NT1, researchers found that oral carnitine supplementation improved narcolepsy symptoms (including daytime sleepiness), possibly by increasing fatty-acid oxidation. Read more about carnitine on HF’s Treatment web page HERE.