Creatine and Parkinson’s Disease

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is conducting a new clinical trial to examine creatine as a treatment for Parkinson's disease. Researchers believe that creatine may act as an antioxidant, preventing damage to brain cells.

According to the NIH press release , the double-blind, placebo-controlled study will be conducted at 51 medical centers in the United States and Canada and will include 1,720 patients with early-state Parkinson’s disease.

Participants will have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease within the past five years and will have been treated for two years or less with drugs that increase levels of dopamine in the brain. Researchers explained that many symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are due to a loss of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that helps control movement.

Although creatine is not currently approved for the treatment of Parkinson’s or any other condition, it is believed to improve exercise performance. However, scientific evidence is still lacking.

Creatine is naturally synthesized in the human body from amino acids, primarily in the kidney and liver, and transported in the blood for use by muscles. About 95 percent of the body's total creatine content is located in skeletal muscle. Creatine was discovered in the 1800s as an organic constituent of meat. In the 1970s, Soviet scientists reported that oral creatine supplements may improve athletic performance during brief, intense activities such as sprints.

Creatine gained popularity in the 1990s as a "natural" way to enhance athletic performance and build lean body mass. It was reported that skeletal muscle total creatine content increases with oral creatine supplementation, although response is variable. Factors that may account for this variation are carbohydrate intake, physical activity, training status and muscle fiber type. The finding that carbohydrate enhances muscle creatine uptake increased the market for creatine multi-ingredient sports drinks.

Use of creatine is particularly popular among adolescent athletes, who are reported to take doses that are not consistent with scientific evidence, and to frequently exceed recommended loading and maintenance doses. Published reports suggest that approximately 25 percent of professional baseball players and up to 50 percent of professional football players consume creatine supplements. Most athletic associations have not banned this supplement, including the International Olympic Committee, the International Amateur Athletic Federation and the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

Studies have suggested that creatine may improve the function of mitochondria, the energy producers in cells. Creatine may also act as an antioxidant preventing damage from compounds harmful to brain cells.

According to the Parkinson’s disease Foundation (PDF), as many as one million Americans suffer from Parkinson's disease, a degenerative brain disorder that causes symptoms such as tremors, stiff muscles and slow movement. While there are drugs that can reduce these symptoms, there are currently no proven treatments to cure or slow the progression of the disease.

Previous studies suggest that creatine may be helpful in the treatment of various neuromuscular disease, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and myasthenia gravis, and may delay onset of symptoms when used as an adjunct to conventional treatment. However, although early results were encouraging, recent research has found no beneficial effects on survival or disease progression.

Integrative therapies with good scientific evidence for Parkinson’s disease include 5-HTP and music therapy.