Creatine in the brain

Abstract

Since the 1990’s, creatine has become one of the most popular supplements in the world for the purpose of increasing skeletal muscle creatine, increasing skeletal muscle mass, and improving the amount of exercise training. The first patient with brain creatine deficiency was reported around the year 2000, and this patient’s severe clinical symptoms - such as impairment of brain function - drove researchers to start focusing more on the brain and related studies. Both in vitro and in vivo studies have shown creatine in the body to cover a wide range of roles including bioenergetic, anabolic, bone remodeling, anti-oxidant, anti-apoptotic, anti-excitotoxic and neuroprotective. In this short review, we introduce recent findings on the effects of creatine supplementation on brain function closely related to mental health, which directly influences the quality of life of elderly people.

Keywords

• creatine
• cognition
• magnetic resonance spectroscopy