title: Creatine monohydrate and conjugated linoleic acid improve strength and body composition following resistance exercise in older adults.
abstract: Aging is associated with lower muscle mass and an increase in body fat. We examined whether creatine monohydrate (CrM) and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) could enhance strength gains and improve body composition (i.e., increase fat-free mass (FFM); decrease body fat) following resistance exercise training in older adults (>65 y). Men (N = 19) and women (N = 20) completed six months of resistance exercise training with CrM (5g/d)+CLA (6g/d) or placebo with randomized, double blind, allocation. Outcomes included: strength and muscular endurance, functional tasks, body composition (DEXA scan), blood tests (lipids, liver function, CK, glucose, systemic inflammation markers (IL-6, C-reactive protein)), urinary markers of compliance (creatine/creatinine), oxidative stress (8-OH-2dG, 8-isoP) and bone resorption (Nu-telopeptides). Exercise training improved all measurements of functional capacity (P<0.05) and strength (P<0.001), with greater improvement for the CrM+CLA group in most measurements of muscular endurance, isokinetic knee extension strength, FFM, and lower fat mass (P<0.05). Plasma creatinine (P<0.05), but not creatinine clearance, increased for CrM+CLA, with no changes in serum CK activity or liver function tests. Together, this data confirms that supervised resistance exercise training is safe and effective for increasing strength in older adults and that a combination of CrM and CLA can enhance some of the beneficial effects of training over a six-month period. Trial Registration. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00473902.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. tarnopol@mcmaster.ca
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tarnopolsky
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zimmer
authors.forename: Jeremy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Paikin
authors.forename: Adeel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Safdar
authors.forename: Alissa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aboud
authors.forename: Erin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pearce
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Roy
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Doherty
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D001823:Body Composition; D003401:Creatine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007537:Isometric Contraction; D019787:Linoleic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D009132:Muscles / Q000473:pathology; D052756:Nutritional Sciences; D010807:Physical Endurance; D014891:Weight Lifting
chemical_list: D019787:Linoleic Acid; D003401:Creatine