Creatine does not slow progression in Parkinson’s disease, study finds

Study show that 5 years of creatine at a dose of 10 mg/day does not slow disease progression in patients with early, stable Parkinson's disease

In 2001, the NINDS Exploratory Trials of Parkinson Disease programme was launched. It performed futility analysis of four putative therapies and concluded that just one – creatine monohydrate – was worth evaluating in a large-scale trial.

Now, results of that trial, Long-term Study 1, have been published in JAMA (online, 10 February 2015)[1]
. They show that five years of creatine at a dose of 10mg/day does not slow disease progression in patients with early, stable Parkinson’s disease.

Analysis of 955 participants found no difference in the rate of clinical decline (assessed using five separate measures) between creatine and placebo groups, or in rates of adverse events. “These findings do not support the use of creatine monohydrate in patients with Parkinson’s disease,” the investigators conclude.

References

[1] Writing Group for the NINDS Exploratory Trials in Parkinson Disease (NET-PD) Investigators. Effect of creatine monohydrate on clinical progression in patients with Parkinson disease: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA 2015. doi:10.1001/jama.2015.120.

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Citation
The Pharmaceutical Journal, PJ, 28 February 2015, Vol 294, No 7851;294(7851):DOI:10.1211/PJ.2015.20067886

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