PhD Conferral Mrs. Yvonne M.H. Bruls, MSc.

Keywords: Type 2 diabetes, insulin, fat burning, glucose burning, MRS, acetylcarnitine

"Acetylcarnitine; the role in metabolic flexibility and insulin sensitivity"

The incidence of Type 2 diabetes is on the rise. This disease is characterised by the body not responding effectively to the hormone insulin (i.e. insulin resistance) and a reduced ability to switch between fat burning and glucose burning. As a result, blood glucose levels rise cannot be maintained properly and will therefore rise. By means of magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), this dissertation demonstrated the importance of acetylcarnitine formation, which plays a key role in muscle energy metabolism, for maintaining glucose homeostasis. The main conclusion is that carnitine intake increases acetylcarnitine formation and improves the ability to switch between glucose burning and fat burning in muscles.