RE: Acylcarnitine profile/FOD

[Guest guest]

Malissa, I just saw this, and yes, your doctor's explanation was my

understanding from Dr. V as to the significance of the acylcarnitine profile

and what it means. For once, the experts agree.

B

_____

From: Malilibear@...

Sent: Thursday, February 17, 2005 6:39 PM

To:

Subject: Re: Acylcarnitine profile/FOD

In a message dated 2/17/2005 7:17:25 PM Eastern Standard Time,

lfitzger@... writes:

I looked up my acylcanitine report. I can only find one at the moment. My

notebook is a mess. It shows the short-chain acylcarnitine as the

difference

between the total and free carnitine. I have no idea what this means.

Thanks, Laurie! I appreciate you looking that up for me. On one of the

interpretations it says that carnitine supplementation can elevate the short

chain

fatty acids. Some of my short chains are elevated and we think that's why,

but the medium, long chain and very long chains are elevated too.

One of my mito doctors e-mailed me back today and explained things a little

better for me. I'll share his explanation b/c I think he used a great

analogy. I asked him what the elevated acylcarnitines meant and if the

abnormalities could make me not feel well when fasting. This was his

response:

" I'd look at the acylcarnitine profiles as looking at metabolic " symptoms " ,

kind of like a fever in an infection. The underlying infection is the

trouble, and perhaps the fever will make you feel worse, but it is not

really the

cause of the problem. Your underlying metabolism problem may be reflected

in

the acylcarntine profile results, which will become abnormal during periods

of relative catabolism. So, I think there is a connection - the

abnormalities

are reflecting your tolerance for fasting - and perhaps it is true that in

general symptoms of not feeling good shouldn't occur so soon in adults, it

seems that your metabolism is more sensitive and your body is telling you

that

you perhaps need more constant nutrition. "

Malisa