The Supplementation of Acetyl- l -Carnitine Decreases Fatigue and Increases Quality of Life in Patients with Hepatitis C Treated with Pegylated Interferon-α 2b Plus Ribavirin

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether supplementation of acetyl-l-carnitine (ALC) to pegylated-interferon-α 2b (Peg-IFN-α 2b) and ribavirin (RBV) improves the health-related quality of life during the treatment for chronic hepatitis C, thereby decreasing the risk of treatment discontinuation. Sixty patients with chronic hepatitis C underwent treatment with Peg-IFN-α 2b + RBV (group A; n=29) or Peg-IFN-α 2b + RBV + ALC (group B; n=31) for 12 months. At the end of the study, the comparison between group A and group B showed significant differences in aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (−80.9 versus −110.3; P<0.001), alanine aminotransferase (−111.6 versus −134.7; P<0.001), Viremia (−3.26 versus −3.82; P<0.05), mental health (0 versus 11; P<0.001), physical functioning (−1 versus 8; P<0.001), role-physical (1 versus 13; P<0.001), bodily pain (1 versus 12; P<0.001), general health (3 versus 12; P<0.001), vitality (3 versus 13; P<0.001), social functioning (3 versus 10; P<0.001), physical fatigue (2.1 versus −5.4; P<0.001), mental fatigue (−0.7 versus −2.7; P<0.001), and fatigue severity scale (−3.4 versus −12; P<0.001). ALC supplementation reduced both mental and physical fatigue, improved health-related quality of life, and, therefore, has the potential to increase patient adherence to the combination regimen. This, in turn, may increase the percentage of patients achieving a sustained virological response.