| A new study in mice
suggests that dietary supplementation with creatine may be helpful for patients with
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease. ALS is the progressive
degeneration of motor neurons -- nerves that help control muscle -- and is fatal within 2
to 5 years of diagnosis.
This research showed that supplementing with 1% or 2% creatine was more effective than
the drug riluzole in extending survival in mice with an ALS-like disease, report
researchers in the March issue of Nature Medicine.
"Survival was extended by 13 days with 1% creatine and 26 days with 2%
creatine, which is better than the improvement with riluzole, which extends survival by 13
days in (mice)," the scientists report.
Creatine supplementation also resulted in improved movement and protected mice from
loss of the motor neuronsand nerve cells in the substantia nigra in the brain.
The research team suggest that creatine may help to reverse the effects of ALS at the
cellular level by stabilizing enzymes in the mitochondria, the "powerhouses" of
the cell where energy is stored. Creatine may slow the process of cell death through
stabilizing the enzymes that assist in energy storage.
The fact that creatine protected against the loss of substantia nigra neurons indicates
that the treatment may also benefit patients with Parkinson's disease, Beal and his team
propose.
SOURCE: Nature Medicine 1999;5:347-350. |
