Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33596883›Full record

Trial reportBMC musculoskeletal disorders2021

The effect of L-Carnitine supplementation on clinical symptoms, C-reactive protein and malondialdehyde in obese women with knee osteoarthritis: a double blind randomized controlled trial.

Farnaz Baghban, Mahdieh Hosseinzadeh, Hassan Mozaffari-Khosravi, Ali Dehghan, Hossein Fallahzadeh

Open access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.4field-weighted citation impact, top 20% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 10 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Efficacy of Weight-Lowering Agents on Fat Distribution: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2026
    Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Review
  4. Fluorinated Carnitine Derivatives as Tools to Visualise Carnitine Transport and Metabolism.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026
    Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Farnaz BaghbanNutrition and Food Security Research Center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
Mahdieh HosseinzadehNutrition and Food Security Research Center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran. hoseinzade.mahdie@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7482-2494
Hassan Mozaffari-KhosraviNutrition and Food Security Research Center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
Ali DehghanRheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Shahid Sadoughi Hospital, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
Hossein FallahzadehDepartment of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Research Center of Prevention and Epidemiology of Non-Communicable Disease, Faculty of Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences and Health Services · IR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundsL-carnitine decreases oxidation and inflammation by reducing the fatty acid in plasma and using oxygen in ATP synthesis. As such, knee osteoarthritis (KOA) can be improved by reducing apoptotic chondrocytes. This study was designed to compare the effect of L-carnitine supplementation and low-calorie diet on improving KOA among obese women. We further investigated the effect of L- carnitine on improvement of KOA in obese women on low calorie diet.

methodsTo conduct the study, 76 obese women with KOA were randomly assigned into two low-calorie diet groups: the first received 1000 mg of LCG and the second took the placebo (PLG) (n = 38). Anthropometry indices, body composition, lipid profile, C-reactive Protein (CRP), Malondialdehyde (MDA), and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) were assessed at the baseline condition and after 12 weeks.

resultsThe mean change of body mass index (BMI) (- 1.21 ± 0.84 vs. -0.79 ± 0.70; P = 0.02) and weight (- 2.76 ± 1.69 vs. -1.95 ± 1.73; P = 0.05) were significant in the LCG compared with the PLG. Likewise, LCG compared to the PLG showed insignificant improvement in waist circumference (WC) (- 5.65 ± 5.85 vs. -3.64 ± 3.37; P = 0.08). Total cholesterol (P = 0.02), MDA (P = 0.03), fat mass (P = 0.03) and visceral fat (P = 0.001) only showed decreased levels in LCG in comparison to the baseline condition. There was no significant difference between LCG and PLG, in the mean changes of hip circumference, visceral fat, free fat mass, fat mass, lipid profiles, CRP, MDA as well as stiffness, physical function, decrease of pain and total scores (P > 0.05).

conclusionThe 12-week L-carnitine supplementation could improve BMI, but had no significant effect on other anthropometric and body composition measures as well as clinical symptoms, CRP, MDA, and lipid profile in women with KOA. Further trials with higher doses and longer durations are required. IRCT registration number: IRCT2017011932026N2. Registration date: 2017-04-27.

Indexed as

C-Reactive ProteinOsteoarthritis, KneeCarnitineDietary SupplementsDouble-Blind MethodFemaleHumansMalondialdehydeObesityOntarioCarnitineC-Reactive ProteinMalondialdehydeCRPL-carnitineMDAOsteoarthritis

Identifiers

PMID33596883
PMCPMC7891026
OpenAlexW3130934918

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.