thus , in a first embodiment , the present invention provides pharmaceutical compositions comprising ( a ) l - carnitine , an acyl l - carnitine , or a pharmacologically acceptable salt thereof , and ( b ) an ace - inhibitor as the active ingredients and a pharmacologically acceptable carrier or excipient . these compositions are suitable for oral , parenteral , rectal or topical ( transdermal ) administration . the acyl l - carnitines useful for the pharmaceutical compositions and methods of the present invention are those wherein the acyl group is a straight or branched - chain alkanoyl group having from 2 to 8 carbon atoms , preferably from 2 to 6 carbon atoms . particularly preferred are acetyl , propionyl , butyryl , valeryl and isovaleryl l - carnitines . pharmaceutically acceptable salts of l - carnitine include all pharmaceutically acceptable salts which are prepared by the addition of an acid to l - carnitine , and which do not give rise to undesired toxic or side effects . the formation of pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salts is well known in pharmaceutical technology . non - limiting examples of suitable salts include the chloride , bromide , orotate , acid aspartate , acid citrate , acid phosphate , fumarate , acid fumarate , lactate , maleate , acid maleate , acid oxalate , acid sulphate , glucose phosphate , tartrate and acid tartrate salts . other suitably acceptable salts which are nontoxic and provide substantially similar results to administration of l - carnitine and the above - identified pharmaceutical salts will be readily apparent to one having ordinary skill in the art and are considered to be equivalent to the salts enumerated above . for the sake of simplicity and clarity , hereinbelow reference will be made to l - carnitine only , it being understood , however , that whatever is disclosed in connection with l - carnitine equally applies to the above - identified acyl l - carnitine and pharmacologically acceptable salts thereof . suitable ace - inhibitors include captopril , enalapril , lisinopril , ramipril , fosinopril , zofenopril , pivopril , rentiapril , quinapril , indolapril , spirapril , pentopril , benazepril , libenzapril , cilazapril , delapril and perindopril . the compositions of the invention suitably contain from 1 to 90 % by weight , preferably 25 to 75 % by weight , based on the total weight of the composition , of an ace - inhibitor and from 1 to 90 % by weight , preferably 25 to 75 % by weight , based on the total weight of the composition , of l - carnitine . unit dosage forms will preferably contain from 0 . 5 g to 2 g of l - carnitine , while the quantity of ace - inhibitor will depend on the characteristics of this component . for example , with specific reference to ace - inhibitors already approved for clinical use , ramipril may be present in quantities from 1 to 10 mg , enalapril from 5 to 50 mg , captopril from 10 to 100 mg , and lisinopril from 5 to 50 mg . the composition of the present invention may also be in the form of separate dosage units for simultaneous , separate or sequential use . in particular , compositions comprising about 1 g of l - carnitine and from 5 to 20 mg of lisinopril are preferred , for administration once per day . using other ace - inhibitors having different pharmacological characteristics ( such as captopril ), the compositions of the invention will preferably be administered two or more times per day , up to a daily dosage of 2 - 3 g of l - carnitine and 20 - 300 mg of ace - inhibitor . suitable forms of administration include capsules , tablets , syrups , granules , ampoules or phials , suppositories , or aqueous or oleous solutions . the compositions of the invention can be prepared by resorting to conventional processes and excipients , such as are described in remington &# 39 ; s pharmaceutical sciences handbook , mack pub . co ., new york , usa , xviii ed ., 1984 . in another embodiment , the present invention provides a method for treating cardiovascular disorders by administering : ( a ) l - carnitine , an acyl l - carnitine , or a pharmacologically acceptable salt thereof , and ( b ) an ace - inhibitor to a patient in need thereof . as noted above , the cardiovascular disorders which may be treated by the present method include ischemia , infarction , angina , hypertension , and congestive heart failure . the present method may be carried out by oral , parenteral , rectal , or transdermal administration . oral administration is obviously preferred for chronic pathologies , while the parenteral route may be preferable for acute pathologies , for example in the case of an infarction . although the exact dosage ranges of ( a ) l - carnitine , acyl l - carnitine , or pharmacologically acceptable salt thereof and ( b ) the ace - inhibitor will vary according to the exact condition being treated and the state of the patient being treated , typically , the method will comprise administering about 0 . 5 to 3 g , preferably about 1 to 2 g , of l - carnitine ( or an equimolar amount of the acyl l - carnitine or salt thereof ) daily and about 1 to 500 mg , preferably about 5 to 100 mg of the ace - inhibitor daily . as discussed above , the dosage range of the ace - inhibitor may be adjusted based on the exact identity of the ace - inhibitor . other features of the invention will become apparent in the course of the following descriptions of exemplary embodiments which are given for illustration of the invention and are not intended to be limiting thereof . set out below are the results of certain clinical trials which demonstrate the advantages obtained by the present invention . 25 patients suffering from congestive heart failure as a result of coronary pathologies or of ischemia of the myocardium , who had already been treated without appreciable therapeutic response with diuretics and an ace - inhibitor ( captopril ) for periods longer than 30 days , were given lisinopril ( 4 mg ) and l - carnitine ( 1 g ) for 15 days . at the end of the treatment , 23 patients had a hemodynamic profile that was distinctly better , characterized by a reduction of systemic vascular resistance , an increase in contractility and cardiac output not accompanied by an increase in cardiac frequency , and a reduction in arterial pressure . only two patients did not show significant improvements but the preliminary data indicated that extension of the period of treatment would have produced beneficial effects even in these non - responders . in none of the patients were toxic effects or side effects noted that could be attributed to the pharmacological treatment . the results set out above show clearly that l - carnitine is able to contribute markedly to treatment with ace - inhibitors of non - responder patients , without a need to increase the dosage . the following examples illustrate some typical compositions of the present invention . example 1 ______________________________________tablets______________________________________lisinopril 5 mgl - carnitine 100 mgmicrocrystalline cellulose 250 mgmagnesium stearate 20 mglactose 100 mg______________________________________ ______________________________________tablets______________________________________ramipril 5 mgl - carnitine 350 mgstarch 40 mggelatin 10 mgmicrocrystalline cellulose 20 mgmagnesium stearate 5 mg______________________________________ obviously , numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings . it is therefore to be understood that , within the scope of the appended claims , the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein .
compositions containing l - carnitine , an acyl l - carnitine , or a pharmacologically acceptable salt thereof in combination with an ace - inhibitor are useful for treating cardiovascular disorders . orally , parenterally , rectally or transdermally administrable pharmaceutical compositions in unit dosage form contain from about 0 . 5 to about 2 g of l - carnitine , or an equimolar amount of an acyl l - carnitine or a pharmacologically acceptable salt thereof , and , e . g ., from about 5 to about 20 mg of the ace - inhibitor lisinopril .