Creatine, the controversial dietary supplement popular with muscle-building athletes, helps people with neuromuscular diseases gain strength, a study out today says.
Canadian researchers found that patients with diseased such as muscular dystrophy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis - Lou Gehrigs disease - had 10% to 15% improvement in their ability to perform high intensity exercises, the study in Neurology says.
Another study out last week showed creatine works better for the diseases than expensive prescription drugs. Creatine does not arrest or reverse the disease process, but it gives muscle more energy.
But the question remains about the safety of creatine, especially for athletes taking high doses. Some doctors have suggested that it may harm the kidneys and other organs.
The food and Drug Administration says long term effects of creatine are still unknown.
"The FDA recommends that consumers consult their physicians before taking this or any product like this," the FDA's Lawrence Bachorik says.
For the study out today, researchers at the McMaster University Medical Center in Ontario gave 5-10 grams of creatine for 10 days to 81 people with diseases that cause muscle weakness and atrophy.
"Their strength went up on every measurement," says Mark Tarnopolsky, lead researcher.
The elderly may also benefit. Creatine may help "aging people who think they're weak and will fall and break their hips," says Leon Charash, head of the Muscular Dystrophy Associations medical committee, which is planning new studies. "I would use it if I had such a problem. I would suggest my mother take it."
He says doctors are already besieged by calls" after the study last week that showed creatine worked better than Riluzole, an $8000 to $12,000-a-year drug for Lou Gehrigs disease. That study of mice, published in Natures Medicine, will be repeated in humans.
Charash says doctors "would be hard pressed to say 'don't take creatine' " to patients who just need a little bit more muscle.
"If I was a person who couldn't lift a spoon to my mouth and then I was able to do that again, it would be a big gain to me."
