Creatine and cognition
2 papers in the library, strongest Moderate.
Graded Moderate · Chance assigned 73 adults to creatine or a dummy powder for twelve weeks; groups were small, and participants chose for themselves whether to exercise.
Papers 2
- Creatine After 45: More Strength Even Without TrainingModeraten = 732026Journal of the International Society of Sports NutritionAdults aged 45 to 65 who had barely exercised took creatine for twelve weeks. Even without training, they gained lean mass, meaning mostly muscle. After twelve weeks the gain averaged about 1.1 kilograms, with wide uncertainty. They also got stronger on the bench press and the leg press than people taking a dummy powder. The study enrolled 73 healthy, inactive adults. Each first chose whether to join a program of exercise and a weight-loss diet. Then chance decided who took 5 grams of creatine twice a day and who got an identical-looking dummy powder. The exercise group did supervised strength and endurance training three times a week. In the end, 64 people finished. With exercise and diet, creatine also added lean mass and strength, and body fat percentage fell further. Memory tests showed only scattered gains, which the researchers call preliminary. Creatinine, a blood value used to check the kidneys, rose slightly. Side effects were rare and similar across groups. The main limit: the four groups ended with only 13 to 20 people each, and exercise was chosen, not assigned by chance.
- Creatine for Dementia: Most of the Evidence Comes From AnimalsPreliminaryn = 62026Ageing research reviewsCreatine helps cells supply energy quickly. That is why scientists and the public are increasingly interested in it as a possible approach to dementia. A new review shows how thin the evidence still is. The researchers searched four large medical databases and screened 8,317 records. Six studies met their criteria: one in cells, four in animals and one small pilot study with 20 people. Most animal studies found that creatine protected nerve cells. One rodent study, however, found worse spatial memory. In the pilot study, participants took 20 grams a day for eight weeks. Afterwards, creatine levels in their brains were 11 percent higher, and they did better on tasks of flexible thinking. The review found no study in which people were assigned at random to creatine or a comparison. So whether creatine helps in dementia cannot be said yet. One pattern stood out: in one rodent study, females benefited while males leaned toward harm. The authors call for larger trials that analyse women and men separately.
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