No effect of creatine on respiratory distress in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effect of creatine supplementation on the respiratory function of patients with advanced amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).


METHODS
Five grams creatine daily were administered orally to 14 patients with definite advanced ALS. For comparison we used a group of 13 patients with a similar respiratory function. All patients performed pulmonary function testing including forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume (FEV(1)), peak expiratory flow rate (PEF) and maximum voluntary ventilation (MVV) -- expressed as percent of the predicted value -- at baseline and each month thereafter.


RESULTS
There was no significant difference in any measured variable between the treatment group and the control group at 1, 2, 3 and 4 months follow-up. Thereafter the high patient drop-out rate did not allow statistical evaluation.


CONCLUSIONS
The present study did not show any clinically significant, long-term effect of creatine on the function of respiratory muscles in ALS patients with respiratory distress.
Drory
Vivian E
VE
Department of Neurology and ALS Clinic, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel-Aviv, Israel. emgunit@tasmc.health.gov.il
Gross
Ditza
D
D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D003401:Creatine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012131:Respiratory Insufficiency / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D003401:Creatine