LEXINGTON, KY (Nov. 2, 2000) – Creatine, a food
supplement frequently used by professional and amateur athletes,
may prevent brain damage following traumatic brain injury,
according to a new research study led by Stephen Scheff, Ph.D.,
professor, University of Kentucky Sanders-Brown Center on Aging
and UK College
of Medicine Department
of Anatomy and Neurobiology. The study was published in the
November issue of Annals of Neurology.
Creatine is one of a class of molecules called amino acids.
Creatine is produced naturally in the body in the liver, kidney
and pancreas and is used as a way to store energy.
Many athletes now use creatine as a dietary supplement to
increase muscle mass, strength, and the recovery time of muscles
between bursts of activity.
Each year about 7 million people in North America experience
traumatic brain injuries (TBI) caused by motor vehicle accidents,
falls, assaults and sports-related activities. Estimated costs to
treat these injuries range from $20 billion to $48 billion each
year.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
about 300,000 TBIs occur each year due to sports or recreational
activities. Athletes, especially those participating in sports
that are likely to involve blows to the head such as football,
hockey, wrestling, skiing, baseball and boxing, often experience
TBIs. Most of these TBIs are concussions. These concussions can
result in subdural hematomas (bleeding under a membrane
surrounding the brain), loss of cognitive function or even death.
TBI causes both primary and secondary damage. The primary
damage occurs at the time of injury as a result of the trauma.
Secondary damage develops following the injury and can occur as
long as days after the initial trauma.
The cause of the secondary injury is not well understood, but
appears to be associated with disruption of the regulation of
calcium levels in brain cells following injury. Regulation of
calcium levels is crucial to mitochondrial function and to proper
adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthesis and use. ATP is a molecule
that is present in all living cells and operates as the energy
source for the majority of the chemical reactions which take place
in cells.
Scheff’s research team demonstrated that brain damage in mice
was reduced 21 percent and 36 percent when creatine was
administered three and five days before the TBI respectively. The
data also show that in rats fed a diet supplemented with creatine
for four weeks before TBI, brain damage was reduced 50 percent
when compared to rats fed a regular diet.
"Our data show that creatine supplementation protects
against secondary damage associated with TBI by inhibiting the
calcium-induced activation of a protein in the mitochondrial
membrane, which preserves proper function of the mitochondria. The
damage also is reduced because creatine acts to maintain
appropriate amounts of ATP in brain cells," Scheff said.
"This strongly suggests that athletes may be gaining a
neuroprotective benefit inadvertently by chronically supplementing
their diet with creatine," Scheff said.
