Effect of the combination of orlistat and l-carnitine on the quality of life (sf-36) in 16 overweigth patients. a preliminary result

Abstract

Introduction and Objectives: Orlistat is a drug widely used in overweight/obese patients, while the combination with l-carnitine could offer an improvement in its effectiveness. To our knowledge, the effect of this combination on the quality of life of overweight patients has not been determined.To evaluate the effects on the quality of life of patients who took the combination of orlistat and l-carnitine at 4 and 8 weeks of treatment. Materials and Patients: : We evaluated the quality of life (Short Form-36) in 16 patients [41.81±8.26 (37.77-45.86) years, 81% women] undergoing pharmacotherapy of the combination of orlistat and l-carnitine (once a day) at 4 and 8 weeks of treatment. Data express mean±SD and 95%IC or percentages as correspond. We use paired Student t Test, two tails with an alpha=0.05. Results: Patients lowered their weight by about 3%. Patients show improvement in body pain, general health, vitality and in both Mental [45.68±6.51 (42.49-48.86) vs. 49.88±3.21 (48.31-51.46), p=0.02] and Physical [59.4±8.92 (55.03-63.77) vs. 63.36±9.64 (58.63-68.08), p=0.01) summaries. Conclusions: These results suggest a beneficial effect of the combination of Orlistat and l-carnitine on the treatment of overweight. Further studies compared with placebo and standard care are required.