“Heads Up” for Creatine Supplementation and its Potential Applications for Brain Health and Function
Darren G. Candow, Sports Medicine (2023) 27 June 2023
There is emerging interest regarding the potential beneficial effects of creatine supplementation on indices of brain health and function. Creatine supplementation can increase brain creatine stores, which may help explain some of the positive effects on measures of cognition and memory, especially in aging adults or during times of metabolic stress (i.e., sleep deprivation). Furthermore, creatine has shown promise for improving health outcome measures associated with muscular dystrophy, traumatic brain injury (including concussions in children), depression, and anxiety. However, whether any sex- or age-related differences exist in regard to creatine and indices of brain health and function is relatively unknown. The purpose of this narrative review is to: (1) provide an up-to-date summary and discussion of the current body of research focusing on creatine and indices of brain health and function and (2) discuss possible sex- and age-related differences in response to creatine supplementation on brain bioenergetics, measures of brain health and function, and neurological diseases.
Key Points
Long-term high-dosage creatine supplementation increases brain creatine stores.
Creatine supplementation can improve cognition and memory, especially in older adults or during times of metabolic stress (i.e., sleep deprivation).
Creatine supplementation improves aspects of recovery from traumatic brain injury in children and has the potential to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety.
There is some evidence that creatine supplementation improves outcome measures in those with muscular dystrophy but not other neurological diseases or conditions such as Parkinson’s disease or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.