LOW-LEVELS OF SERUM ACYLCARNITINE IN CHRONIC-FATIGUE-SYNDROME AND CHRONIC HEPATITIS TYPE-C, BUT NOT SEEN IN OTHER DISEASES

Recently, we found a serum acylcarnitine (ACR) deficiency in Japanese patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). To clarify whether this ACT, abnormality is a characteristic of CFS or not, we also studied th e levels of serum carnitine in Swedish subjects. Both serum ACR and fr ee carnitine (FCR) levels in normal healthy subjects were quite differ ent between Japanese (n = 131) and Swedish people (n = 46) (p < 0.001) . However, it is confirmed that Swedish patients with CFS (n = 57) als o had serum ACR deficiency (p < 0.001). When we studied the levels of serum ACR and FCR in Japanese patients with various kinds of diseases (CFS, hematological malignancies, chronic pancreatitis, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, chronic hepatitis type C, psychiatric diseases), a significant decrease in the levels of serum ACR was only found in pati ents with CFS and chronic hepatitis type C (p < 0.001). Therefore, we concluded that ACR deficiency in serum might be a characteristic abnor mality in only certain types of diseases.