Effects of l-Carnitine Supplementation, Botulinum Neurotoxin Injection, and Rehabilitation for a Chronic Stroke Patient

Abstract

Botulinum neurotoxin injection therapy and rehabilitation have been conducted for stroke patients to reduce the spasticity of their affected limbs and improve their walking ability and daily living. Furthermore, their disability was reported to be related to muscle wasting. Supplementation of l-carnitine was reported to improve physical endurance and was used to treat sarcopenia in, for example, patients with cancer. Here, we report a case of chronic stroke with muscle wasting in a patient with improved walking endurance by l-carnitine supplementation, botulinum neurotoxin injection, and rehabilitation. A 58-year-old woman had a left putamen hemorrhage 9years before, and right spastic hemiplegia and walking disability. She could walk no more than 20m. Botulinum neurotoxin injection and rehabilitation were performed 6times every 3 months. The first time, walking speed and continuous walking distance increased as her spasticity decreased. However, the improvement declined after the second and third treatments. She had right leg pain during walking, accompanied by muscle wasting. The l-carnitine prescription contributed to the attenuation of her leg pain during walking and rapid improvement of her continuous walking distance. Walking speed and endurance further improved. In addition, the withdrawal of l-carnitine did not decrease her walking ability or induce a recurrence of her leg pain. Interestingly, creatine phosphokinase increased after l-carnitine was stopped, indicating that l-carnitine had helped to reduce muscle damage during rehabilitation. This case suggests that chronic stroke patients with muscle wasting have an abnormality in the mitochondrial energy metabolism of their muscles.