Basrah - College of Pharmacy Media:

The College of Pharmacy at the University of Basrah discussed a Master's thesis titled "A Prospective, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial of L-Carnitine Supplementation in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Clinical and Biochemical Outcomes" presented by the student Ali Mohsen Saleh.

The thesis presented a prospective clinical trial conducted on 120 children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), divided equally into two groups. The first group received L-Carnitine at a dosage of 50 mg/kg/day, while the second group received a placebo for six months. Autism symptom severity was evaluated before and after intervention using the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS).

The findings demonstrated a statistically significant clinical improvement in the L-Carnitine group compared to the placebo group, accompanied by marked improvements in biochemical markers. The study successfully correlated clinical symptom reduction with metabolic alterations and oxidative stress parameters.

The study aimed to evaluate the clinical and biochemical efficacy of L-Carnitine supplementation in children with ASD compared to placebo, and to investigate the correlation between clinical improvement and changes in carnitine levels, antioxidant defense markers, and oxidative stress.

This research provides valuable clinical and biochemical evidence supporting the potential use of L-Carnitine as an adjunctive treatment under medical supervision for select children with ASD, serving as a foundation for larger future studies to identify patient subgroups that benefit most.

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