NASHVILLE, TENN. — Creatine monohydrate, in combination with resistance training, appears to increase strength and endurance in patients with Parkinson's disease more than resistance training alone.
The additional benefits may be related to creatine's ability to stimulate protein synthesis and reduce the depletion of adenosine triphosphate during exercise, Chris Hass, Ph.D., of Columbia University, New York, wrote in a poster at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine.
Creatine preserved dopaminergic neurons in a mouse model of Parkinson's (Exp. Neurol. 1999;157:142–9).
Dr. Hass randomized 20 patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease to progressive resistance weight training plus placebo, or training plus daily creatine supplementation with 20 g/day for the first 5 days and 5 g/day thereafter. The patients' mean age was 62 years; their average functional Parkinson's evaluation score—using Hoehn and Yahr staging—was 2.2, which is considered mild to moderate Parkinson's disease.
All participants underwent 12 weeks of progressive resistance training on exercise machines, twice a week. The 11 exercises targeted arms, legs, chest, torso, and back. They performed one set of 8–12 repetitions, or to fatigue.
Both groups significantly improved the maximum amount of weight they could press, but the creatine group improved significantly more than controls in biceps curl (26% vs. 11%), with a trend toward significance in chest press (24% vs. 13%).
Muscular endurance improved in both groups but more in the creatine group (chest press endurance 38% vs. 33%; leg extension endurance 95% vs. 59%). Only the creatine group significantly increased in chair rise performance (12% vs. 5%).