Carnitine
metaboliteCarnitine concentration changes reflect myocardial fatty-acid oxidation and energetic stress during acute myocardial infarction.
Pathway placement
Cascade stepMyocardial injury (shared endpoint)
Confidencehigh
RationaleEarly AMI risk biomarker; myocardial fatty-acid-oxidation substrate.
Druggability
Not assessed (no mapped human gene target).
Type I vs Type II discrimination
ScoresType-II-associated
R — rupture / Type-I0
C — confounder / Type-II50
A — assay feasibility42
E — evidence strength66
T1DI (composite)7
Specificity differential (R−C)-50
Confounder panel (Type-II drivers)
1sepsis / systemic inflammationmag 2
2anemia / acute blood lossn/a
3hypovolemia / dehydrationn/a
4tachyarrhythmiamag 2
5hypoxemia / respiratory failuremag 1
6hypertensive emergencyn/a
7high-demand / peri-operative stressmag 1
Coverage: 4/7 confounders with evidence
Tier: deep-scored (abstract-extracted) · 12 supporting references. See the discrimination table for all markers.
Assay & specimen
Class-level default (no specific cleared assay)— generic method inferred from analyte class; confirm against a specific product insert before use.
Specimen
Serum, plasma or urine
Collection tube
Serum separator (gold/red-top, SST) · Lithium heparin (green-top) · Sterile urine container
Method / principle
LC-MS/MS (targeted metabolomics) or enzymatic colorimetric where available
Reagent / substrate
Stable-isotope-labeled internal standard (MS); or enzyme-coupled Trinder reagent
Platform
LC-MS/MS; some automated chemistry
Turnaround · availability
Send-out / research · Specialized / research
Literature evidence(1)
- High-resolution metabolomics study revealing l-homocysteine sulfinic acid, cysteic acid, and carnitine as novel biomarkers for high acute myocardial infarction risk.Metabolism: clinical and experimental · 2019 · PMID 31874143 · doi
Clinical trials(1)
- Effect of L-Carnitine on Biomarkers of Myocardial Reperfusion Injury in Patients With ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction Undergoing Primary Percutaneous Coronary InterventionNCT06564909 · PHASE2 · RECRUITING · L-Carnitine, The standard care for the management of myocardial infarction post PCI