Carnitine - Biochemical Testing of Carnitine Status

 Testing for Carnitine levels is difficult.  The majority of Carnitine is located in Muscle tissue, but it is also found in the Blood, Liver, and Kidneys.  Examination of Muscle Carnitine levels yields the more accurate results, but sampling of Muscle is an invasive procedure.  As a result, blood serum levels are the preferred method of diagnosis in most cases.  However, since approximately 98% of total body Carnitine is present in Muscle and Tissue, serum Carnitine levels can only measure the status of the remaining 2%, and it is known that there is not necessarily a good correlation between the Carnitine levels in the blood serum and in other tissues.