Plioplys, A V, Plioplys, S · Neuropsychobiology · 1997 · DOI
This study tested whether two medicines—L-carnitine and amantadine—could help reduce fatigue in ME/CFS patients. Researchers gave 30 patients each medicine for 2 months to compare which worked better. L-carnitine was well-tolerated and showed improvement in most measured symptoms, while amantadine caused side effects that forced half the patients to stop taking it.
This is one of the first formal investigations of L-carnitine for ME/CFS, providing evidence that a low-toxicity, mitochondrial-supporting agent may improve multiple clinical parameters in this population. The finding that carnitine supplementation targets a plausible metabolic mechanism—impaired mitochondrial energy production—offers a rational therapeutic approach worth further investigation.
This study does not prove L-carnitine cures ME/CFS or that it works for all patients; the lack of a placebo control means improvement could partly reflect placebo effect or natural fluctuation in symptoms. It also does not establish that low carnitine levels *cause* ME/CFS fatigue, only that supplementation correlates with symptom improvement. The small sample and 1997 publication date mean findings require replication in larger, modern trials.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Plioplys, A V & Plioplys, S (1997). Amantadine and L-carnitine treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.. Neuropsychobiology. https://doi.org/10.1159/000119325
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-plioplys-1997-amantadine-carnitine,
author = {Plioplys, A V and Plioplys, S},
title = {Amantadine and L-carnitine treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.},
journal = {Neuropsychobiology},
year = {1997},
doi = {10.1159/000119325},
note = {PubMed: 9018019},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/plioplys-1997-amantadine-carnitine},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-25. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/plioplys-1997-amantadine-carnitine
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