Send Orders of Reprints at reprints@benthamscience.net 226 Current HIV Research, 2013, 11, 226-230 Frequency of Depression and its Correlation with Serum Carnitine Level in HIV/AIDS Patients Haleh Rezaee 1 , Hossein Khalili *,2 , Shima Hatamkhani 2 , Simin Dashti-Khavidaki 2 and Zahra Khazaeipour 3 1 Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Research Center, Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran; 2 Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 3 Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Research Center, Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Abstract: There are some evidences regarding beneficial effects of carnitine in improvement of depression symptoms. Incidence of depression is significantly higher among HIV positive individuals compared to HIV negative populations. Also carnitine deficiency is prevalent in HIV positive individuals. In a cross-sectional study correlation between serum carnitine level and depression severity based on the Beck Depression Inventory questionnaire was assessed in 100 HIV/AIDS (42 males and 58 females) patients. According to the Beck Depression Inventory definitions, 31%, 16%, and 21% of the patients experienced mild, moderate, and severe depression, respectively. The mean ± SD serum concentration of total carnitine in the patients was 37.96 ± 26.08 (μmol/L). Fifty-four (54%) patients were categorized as carnitine deficient. A non-statistically significant negative correlation between patients’ depression scores and total levels of serum carnitine was found. Considering the prevalence of depression among HIV/AIDS patients and probable role of carnitine in the pathogenesis of depressive disorders, more studies are needed to reveal correlation between depression and the body storage of carnitine. Keywords: Depression, carnitine, HIV/AIDS. INTRODUCTION Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection can affect several aspects of patients’ health including mood disorders. These problems can affect patients’ quality of life, physical and social functioning, and also cause chronic fatigue [1]. Incidence of depression is significantly higher among HIV positive individuals compared to HIV negative populations [2]. Approximately half of HIV-infected patients suffer from depression symptoms worldwide [3, 4]. There are some evidences regarding beneficial effects of carnitine in improvement of depression symptoms [5-11]. Carnitine is a non-essential amino acid which regulates cell membrane transport and metabolism of fatty acids. It is synthesized from essential amino acids in the liver, brain, and kidney but most of the human body carnitine requirement is acquired from meat and dairy products. Other natural sources of carnitine are nuts, seeds, legumes, vegetables, and cereals. Most of the human body carnitine content is available as free and acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC) [11- 13]. *Address correspondence to this author at the Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Enghelab Ave, Postal Code: 1417614411, Tehran, P.O. Box: 14155/6451, Iran; Tel: +98-912-2979329; Fax: +98-21-66461178; E-mail: khalilih@tums.ac.ir Carnitine deficiency is prevalent in HIV positive individuals due to several reasons such as decreased intestinal absorption, suppressed appetite, gastrointestinal infections, dysphagia, concomitant malignancies, decreased intake, problems in uptake and release of carnitine from tissues, renal loss, decrease in adipose tissue mass, antiretroviral treatment, and HIV infection by itself [14-21]. Considering frequency of depression and carnitine deficiency in HIV positive patients and potential benefits of carnitine in improvement of the depression symptoms in non-HIV populations, frequency of depression in a sample of Iranian HIV positive patients and its probable correlation with serum carnitine levels have been evaluated in the present study. METHODS This cross-sectional study was conducted in HIV Clinic of Iranian HIV/AIDS Research Center of Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran, Iran. During one year period (from July 2011 to July 2012), 100 HIV positive patients older than 18 years entered the study. During the study period, 141 patients were screened. Patients who did not sign the consent form and had problems with interview were excluded. The researcher attended the clinic during the study period and after the descriptive study of patients, those who were conscious for interview were selected. Regarding the number of patients referred to the clinic and duration of recruitment, finally 100 patients completed the study. 1873-4251/13 $58.00+.00 © 2013 Bentham Science Publishers