Figure 2 Cellular kinetics and metabolism of BMIPP in various conditions: normal (upper), experimental inhibition of carnitine shuttle (middle), and TGCV (lower).

Because most cellular BMIPP is esterified and incorporated into TG pool, this radiopharmaceutical is useful to evaluate cellular metabolism of TG as well as that of long-chain fatty acid. The defective lipolysis observed in TGCV is upstream of carnitine shuttle following mitochondrial oxidation, therefore carnitine administration did not alter BMIPP-WR in patients with TGCV (please see description in text).

Abbreviations: BMIPP-WR, washout rate of ¹²³I-β -methyl-p-iodophenylpentadecanoic acid; TGCV, triglyceride deposit cardiomyovasculopathy