Why does weakness occur during illness?
The body has to spend a lot of energy fighting a viral infection.
Even with a slight increase in temperature by one degree, energy demand increases by 13%1. Among the physiological reasons that cause weakness of the body during and after an illness, an important role is played by drug load and viral intoxication, which lead to changes in metabolism, deterioration of appetite, and a decrease in the body’s defenses. Due to poor appetite, the body does not receive the necessary substances responsible for energy production and recovery.
Lack of energy leads to the fact that 1-2 weeks after the symptoms of the disease disappear, weakness and fatigue persist even with minor physical exertion. Some experience emotional instability, while others complain of poor tolerance to various stimuli - loud sounds, bright light and vestibular stress.
After suffering from viral pneumonia, muscle weakness, decreased general tone, increased fatigue, and sweating are observed in 78% of patients.2 Similar symptoms, sometimes in an erased form, can persist for 1–2 months, with periods of fluctuations in body temperature possible.1
To recover faster, the body requires additional energy resources. They can be provided by Elcar®, a source of L-carnitine.
Elkar
Elkar (levocarnitine) is a drug that improves metabolism and helps provide tissues with energy. The normal course of metabolic processes in the human body is under constant threat. Stress, excessive physical and mental stress, pregnancy, breastfeeding, errors in diet, surgical interventions, side effects of certain medications - all these factors can have a negative impact on metabolism. Levocarnitine (L-carnitine) is a substance that can ensure normal metabolism and replenish energy deficiency. In some sources it is called vitamin B or B11, but this is not entirely true, because Unlike true vitamins, it can be synthesized in the body. Its biological role is to provide energy to tissues that experience the greatest physiological stress - skeletal muscles, brain, liver and especially the heart (lack of levocarnitine can provoke cardiomyopathy). L-carnitine acts as a carrier of fatty acids to the “energy furnaces” of the body - cellular mitochondria, where they are utilized and release a large amount of energy. The lack of this substance is manifested by rapidly developing fatigue, weakened immunity, dyspeptic disorders, and hypersensitivity reactions. In stressful situations, there is an increased elimination of L-carnitine from the body, as a result of which it is necessary to supply it from the outside. In 2000, domestic pharmaceutical technologists created the drug Elkar, the key active ingredient in which is the biological “passionary” - the active L-isomer of carnitine. Provided the recommended dosage regimen is followed, this drug is able to completely close the “carnitine window” created by a deficiency of this compound. Good tolerability and a favorable safety profile make the drug accessible even to newborns and elderly patients - the most vulnerable groups of the population in terms of susceptibility to metabolic disorders and side effects from the use of drugs.
Compliance with the standards of effectiveness and safety of the drug is confirmed by clinical studies and nearly twenty years of experience in its use for the treatment of diseases associated with metabolic and energy metabolism disorders in preschool and school-age children, pregnant and lactating women, athletes, mature and elderly patients, who most need levocarnitine. Elkar has a complex effect on the body, including:
• strengthens the immune status;
• increases endurance, psycho-emotional stability, physical performance due to the active utilization of fatty acids with the release of energy available for use by the body;
• eliminates increased fatigue, muscle weakness;
• normalizes energy exchange and metabolism;
• changes body composition: increases the proportion of muscle tissue by reducing the proportion of adipose tissue;
• helps fight stress;
• normalizes the functioning of internal organs - heart, liver, kidneys, as well as the central nervous system;
• stimulates mental and physical development in children;
• inhibits the processes of natural biological aging of the body.
Elkar is indispensable in spring, when with the first clear days saturated with solar ultraviolet light, hypovitaminosis comes and all kinds of chronic diseases worsen. At this time, it is especially important to tone the body and maintain it in this state, which Elkar will cope with with honor: in 1-2 months of regular use, it will compensate for the lack of levocarnitine, return working capacity to the previous level, and protect against diseases and stress. The fat-burning effect of Elkar is also in great demand: if you follow a diet and regular physical activity, the drug allows you to effectively get rid of extra pounds and make your figure slim and fit.
Elkar is intended for oral use. The specific dose and duration of the therapeutic course is determined by the doctor on an individual basis. Anabolic agents potentiate the effects of the drug. Glucocorticosteroids promote the accumulation of levocarnitine in tissues (with the exception of the liver).
How does L-carnitine work?
Fats are one of the main sources of energy.
When supplied with food, they are converted into ATP - a universal energy resource for all processes occurring in the body.
ATP is formed in special intracellular structures - mitochondria, the main energy generators of all cells.
In order for mitochondria to work at full capacity, they need not only “fuel” - fats, but also “transport” that delivers fats to cellular structures. This transport is L-carnitine.
Fat oxidation with the participation of L-carnitine provides up to 75% of intracellular energy. This is several times more than in the process of glucose oxidation.
The vitamin-like substance L -carnitine is involved in the transport of fatty acids into mitochondria, where they are used for energy production (ATP).
L-carnitine, in addition to energy, performs a number of important metabolic functions:
- enhances the detoxification process, removing excess organic acids and compounds foreign to the body from cells, preventing their death;
- has an antioxidant effect: removes oxygen radicals from the cell, helps neutralize them;
- suppresses the accumulation of lactate in cells, increasing performance
How to use
To recover from illness, Elkar® is recommended to be taken orally 2 times a day 30 minutes before meals for a course of at least 1 month.
Elkar® is available in several forms:
Solution in 100 ml bottles : equipped with a measuring cup, providing convenient dosing of the drug for adults and adolescents.
The recommended single dose is 5 ml.
Elkar® effervescent granules in bags for preparing a solution - for those who value every minute!
It is convenient to use at home and take with you to work, school or the gym.
Each sachet contains 1000 mg of L-carnitine - the optimal dose for a single dose.
To achieve optimal results, take 2 sachets per day.
In the morning before breakfast
During the day, 30 minutes before meals
Elkar solution for oral administration 30% 25 ml fl t/st/pack of cards x1
Trade name: Elcar International name: Levocarnitine
Pharmacological group: metabolic agent Pharmacological group for ATC: A16AA01. Levocarnitine Pharmacological action: anabolic non-steroidal, antihypoxic, antithyroid, appetite increasing, vitamin, metabolic, stimulating tissue repair Pharmacodynamics: A means for correcting metabolic processes, has a metabolic, anabolic, antihypoxic and antithyroid effect, activates fat metabolism, stimulates regeneration, increases appetite. L-carnitine is a natural substance related to B vitamins. It is a cofactor in metabolic processes that maintain CoA activity. Reduces basal metabolism, slows down the breakdown of protein and carbohydrate molecules. Promotes penetration through mitochondrial membranes and the breakdown of long-chain fatty acids (palmitic, etc.) with the formation of acetyl-CoA (necessary for ensuring the activity of pyruvate carboxylase in the process of gluconeogenesis, the formation of ketone bodies, the synthesis of choline and its esters, oxidative phosphorylation and ATP formation). Mobilizes fat (presence of 3 labile methyl groups) from fat depots. Competitively displacing glucose, it turns on a fatty acid metabolic shunt, the activity of which is not limited by oxygen (unlike aerobic glycolysis), and therefore the drug is effective in conditions of acute hypoxia (including the brain) and other critical conditions. Causes slight depression of the central nervous system, increases the secretion and enzymatic activity of digestive juices (gastric and intestinal), improves food absorption. Reduces excess body weight and reduces fat content in skeletal muscles. Increases the threshold of resistance to physical activity, reduces the degree of lactic acidosis and restores performance after prolonged physical activity. At the same time, it promotes economical consumption of glycogen and increases its reserves in the liver and muscles. It has a neurotrophic effect, inhibits apoptosis, limits the affected area and restores the structure of nervous tissue. Normalizes protein and fat metabolism, increased basal metabolism in thyrotoxicosis (being a partial thyroxine antagonist), restores the alkaline reserve of the blood. Pharmacokinetics: When taken orally, it is well absorbed. TCmax - 3 hours, therapeutic concentration is maintained for 9 hours. Easily penetrates the liver and myocardium, more slowly into the muscles. It is excreted by the kidneys mainly in the form of acyl esters. Indications for use: Diseases and conditions accompanied by loss of appetite, weight loss and exhaustion: adults - psychogenic anorexia, physical exhaustion, mental illness, neurasthenia, chronic gastritis (with reduced secretory function), chronic pancreatitis (with exocrine insufficiency), newborns (premature and full-term births): weakened feeding reflex (sluggish sucking), malnutrition, arterial hypotension, adynamia, condition after asphyxia and birth trauma, respiratory distress syndrome, nursing premature newborns on total parenteral nutrition and children undergoing hemodialysis, a syndrome complex similar to Reye's syndrome (hypoglycemia, hypoketonemia, coma), developing in children while taking valproic acid. Primary carnitine deficiency (myopathy with lipid accumulation, hepatic encephalopathy such as Raynaud's syndrome and/or dilated progressive cardiopathy), secondary carnitine deficiency (Marfan syndrome, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Beals syndrome, tuberous sclerosis, some forms of progressive muscular dystrophies, etc.), carnitine deficiency during hemodialysis, propionic and other “organic” acidemia, exogenous constitutional obesity, convalescence (after severe illnesses and surgical interventions), growth retardation in children and adolescents under 16 years of age, thyrotoxicosis (mild forms), skin diseases (psoriasis , seborrheic dermatitis, focal scleroderma, discoid lupus erythematosus), impaired myocardial metabolism in ischemic cardiopathy, angina pectoris, acute myocardial infarction, hypoperfusion due to cardiogenic shock, post-infarction conditions, prevention of cardiotoxicity during treatment with anthracyclines, prolonged intense physical activity (to increase performance, endurance and reducing fatigue - as an anabolic and adaptogen), ischemic stroke (in acute, recovery periods), transient cerebrovascular accident, discirculatory encephalopathy, traumatic and toxic brain lesions, MERRE syndromes (myoclonus syndrome + epilepsy with ruptures of red muscle fibers), MELAS (mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, stroke-like episodes and lactic aciduria), NARP (neuropathy, ataxia, retinitis pigmentosa), Kerps-Sayre, Swan-Pearson optic neuropathy. Contraindications: Hypersensitivity. Dosage regimen: Orally, 30 minutes before meals, additionally diluting with liquid. Adults with anorexia nervosa syndrome - 2 g (2 teaspoons) 2 times a day, in a daily dose of 4 g (4 teaspoons) for 1-2 months. To stimulate appetite and weight gain in patients with chronic gastritis and pancreatitis with reduced secretory function - in a single dose of 0.5 g (1/2 teaspoon) 2 times a day, in a daily dose of 1 g (1 teaspoon) for 1- 1.5 months For growth retardation and thyrotoxicosis - in a single dose of 0.25 g 2-3 times a day, in a daily dose of 0.5-0.75 g (1/2-3/4 teaspoon). The course of treatment is 20 days. The course of treatment is repeated after a break of 1-2 months or prescribed for 3 months without a break. For the treatment of skin diseases, a single dose is 1 g (1 teaspoon) 2 times a day, a daily dose is 2 g (2 teaspoons) for 2-4 weeks. For prolonged physical activity, the drug in a dose of 1-2 g (1-2 teaspoons) is prescribed 2-3 times a day 30 minutes before breakfast and lunch. For primary and secondary deficiency in genetic diseases: children under 2 years old - 0.15 g/kg/day, 2-6 years old - 0.1 g/kg/day, 6-12 years old - 0.75 g/kg/day, from 12 years old and adults - 2-4 g/kg/day, secondary deficiency during hemodialysis - 2-4 g/day, angina and post-infarction conditions - 2-6 g/day. For secondary deficiency during hemodialysis - 2 g once (after the procedure), for acute myocardial infarction - 100-200 mg/kg/day in 4 doses or continuous administration during the first 48 hours, followed by a halved dose reduction, for cardiogenic shock - IV until the patient comes out of shock. Newborns are prescribed 30 minutes before feeding in a single dose of 0.03-0.075 g (4-10 drops) 2 times a day (daily dose 0.06-0.15 g). Before use, the drug is diluted - 3 ml of a 20% solution in 200 ml of a 5% dextrose solution. The resulting solution (5 mg of the drug in 1 ml) is prescribed in a single dose of 10-25 ml. Prescribed from the first day of life or on the 5th day for children who have suffered birth trauma and asphyxia, and then for 2-6 weeks, while the child is in the hospital and at home. Children under 1 year - in a single dose of 0.075 g (10 drops) 3 times a day, in a daily dose - 0.225 g, as an additive to sweet dishes (jelly, compote, juices), children from 1 year to 6 years - in a single dose dose of 0.1 g (14 drops) 2-3 times a day, in a daily dose of 0.2-0.3 g (also as part of sweet dishes). The course of treatment is 1 month. Children from 6 to 12 years old - in a single dose of 100-200 mg (1/4 teaspoon) 2-3 times a day, in a daily dose - 0.4-0.9 g. The course of treatment is 1 month. IV drip, slowly (no more than 60 drops/min). With rapid administration (80 drops/min or more), pain may appear along the veins, which goes away when the injection rate is reduced. Before administration, 0.5-1 g is dissolved in 200 ml of 0.9% NaCl solution. For acute cerebrovascular accidents - 1 g/day for 3 days, and then 0.5 g/day for 7 days. After 10-12 days, repeated courses of 0.5 g/day are recommended for 3-5 days. In the subacute and recovery periods of stroke, with discirculatory encephalopathy, toxic and traumatic brain lesions - 0.5-1 g/day for 3-5 days. If necessary, a repeat course is prescribed after 12-14 days.
Side effects: Allergic reactions, gastralgia, dyspepsia, myasthenia gravis (in patients with uremia). With rapid administration (80 drops/min or more), pain may occur along the vein, which disappears when the injection rate is reduced.
Interaction: GCS promote the accumulation of the drug in tissues (except the liver), other anabolic steroids enhance the effect.
Update date 03/30/2010
Manufacturer: Vips-Med LLC, Russia Registration certificate holder: Pik-Pharma LLC, Russia Forms of release: oral solution 300 mg/ml (dark glass dropper bottle, plastic bottles) 25 ml, oral solution 300 mg/ml (dark glass bottles) 50 ml /complete with a measuring spoon/, oral solution 300 mg/ml (dark glass bottles) 100 ml / complete with a measuring cup/ Ingredients: levocarnitine 300 mg - 1 ml Shelf life: 3 years Registration data: LSR-006143/10 dated 06/30/2010 Registration certificate status: valid Commodity Nomenclature Codes: 3004 90 190 9
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over the counter
Take note
- Peak performance occurs within 2-6 hours after taking Elkar®.
- L-carnitine is poorly absorbed when taken together with food, so Elkar ® should be taken 30 minutes before meals
- L-carnitine accumulates in the body, so the effectiveness of Elkar ® will be higher with long-term and regular use.
- Nemkova S.A. Modern approaches to the treatment of post-infectious asthenia in children and adolescents. Pediatrics/2016/Vol. 95/No. 6. – P. 199-203.
- Romanova E.N. et al. The state of convalescents after influenza A/P1/T1 complicated by pneumonia. Siberian Medical Journal, 2011, No. 4, 73-75 p.
