Background: Throughout the past era, numerous studies reported the association between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and deficiency of magnesium, zinc, selenium, and vitamins A, D, E, B complex, and essential free amino acids. However, the role of carnitine deficiency in the development on ADHD has not been investigated extensively.
Methods: This is a cross-sectional study which involved 2 groups, a case group of 30 patients and a matching control group of 30 subjects. We employed a spectrophotometric enzymatic assay to quantify total-carnitine using Human L-Carnitine ELISA Kit (96 T Unit).
Results: An overall 60 patients who fulfillment the inclusion criteria were included in the study. Patients were furtherly assorted into ADHD (case) group (30 patients) and healthy control group (30 participants). The mean age of the included patients was 7.1296±1.76 and 7.0417±2.05 among the case and control groups, respectively (p=0.19). As for serum carnitine level, there was no statistically significant difference between control and patients as regards serum carnitine (p=0.792). Comparison between serum carnitine and the different clinical subtypes of ADHD indicated non-significant difference between them as regards serum carnitine level (Predominantly Hyperactive: 75.9+19.0; Predominantly inattentive: 62.5+35.96, and Combined ADHD 54.5+25.4, F-ratio=0.827, p>0.05).
Conclusions: It does not seem that carnitine deficiency is an essential cause for development of ADHD symptoms, but its supplementation in ADHD children has clinically proven beneficial effect that may be attributed to one or more of its various functions in the brain.