ABSTRACT
Clofibrate (a very effective lipid-lowering drug) may cause serious muscular damage in uraemic patients, even if used at appropriately low dose. Some authors have reported that D,L-Carnitine and Thiadenol can reduce lipid levels in non uraemic subjects, without adverse effects. In our study D,L-Carnitine and Thiadenol were administered for 3 months to respectively 21 and 15 patients on chronic haemodialysis with hypertriglyceridaemia. With D,L-Carnitine 52% of patients showed lower plasma triglycerides (TG) (-40.6%, p less than 0.002); after Thiadenol 66.6% of patients showed reduced plasma TG concentration (-42.9%, p less than 0.001). No dietary changes were recorded during the study. No major side effects nor biochemical changes were observed. D,L-Carnitine and Thiadenol appear to be less effective, but also less dangerous than Clofibrate in chronic uraemic patients.