Abstract

Introduction: Cardiovascular complications are considered as the main cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with diabetes mellitus. The role of increased serum concentrations of inflammatory markers, particularly C Reactive Protein (CRP), in the prediction and the pathogenesis of cardiovascular complications of type 1 diabetes has been established. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of 10 weeks of L-carnitine supplementation and aerobic exercise training on serum levels of CRP in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Materials and Methods: Male wistar rats (n=36), weighing 230±10 (grams) were randomly divided into 6 groups (n=6 each), including the healthy group, and the remaining (after the induction of diabetes mellitus by injection of streptozotocin), into the diabetic pre-test, diabetic control, diabetic aerobic training, diabetic oral L-carnitine treatment, and the diabetic aerobic training plus oral L-carnitine treatment groups. At the end of the interventions, blood samples were collected to determine serum levels of CRP. Data were analyzed with one-way ANOVA and Tukey's post hoc test using SPSS version 20; P values<0.05 were considered significant. Results: Althought L-carnitine supplem­entation in diabetic oral L-carnitine treatment group did not significantly reduce serum levels of CRP, compared with the diabetic control group (p=0.078), it however reduced the rate of its progressive increase. Also significant reductions in CRP levels in both the aerobic training (p=0) and the aerobic training plus L-carnitine supplementation groups (p=0) were observed. However, the percentage changes of CRP level in the latter group was higher. Conclusion: Results of the current study show that, aerobic training can reduce serum CRP levels in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats, and the simultaneous use of L-carnitine supplementation, can lead to more beneficial effects.