# Creatine & ME/CFS



## M&M (Jan 20, 2002)

Also posted to the Co-Cure emailing list:For full story, see http://www.onlypunjab.com/real/fullstory-newsID-9164.html Study links nutritional supplement, creatine, to increased metabolic energy---------------------------------------------------------------------------A Temple University researcher seeking physiological evidence of chronicfatigue syndrome (CFS) has found a link between creatine and metabolicenergy. The findings, which hold promise for future CFS treatments, werepublished in a recent issue of the Journal of Applied Physiology."We found that creatine affects mitochondria - the parts of the cells thatproduce energy for all biological functioning - in normal human subjects.Now that we have established this baseline evidence, we are looking at thelink between creatine and energy production in CFS patients," said leadauthor Sinclair Smith, Sc.D., assistant professor of occupational therapyin Temple's College of Health Professions.Creatine, thought to build muscle and improve performance, is a popularover-the-counter supplement used by athletes. Smith and his colleagueswondered if creatine could also be used to help relieve the extremephysical and mental fatigue that strikes CFS sufferers."Many physicians still don't believe that CFS exists, making it importantto investigate possible physiologic differences and to determine if we canimpact metabolic function in CFS patients," explained Smith."In addition to improving muscle metabolic function, recent studies showthat creatine supplementation may improve nervous system function as well.Given that cognitive fatigue is a frequent symptom of CFS, we thought thatcreatine may enhance both muscle and neural metabolic status in peoplewith CFS," said Smith.In the study, "Use of phosphocreatine kinetics to determine the influenceof creatine on muscle mitochondrial respiration: an in vivo 31P-MRS studyof oral creatine ingestion," the researchers analyzed the effect ofnaturally produced and supplemental creatine on the rate of musclemetabolism using non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniquesduring exercise and rest.While previous studies have evaluated the link between creatine andmitochondria in animals and human muscle samples, Smith's was the firstlab to test in people.Smith collaborated in this research with the U.S. Army Research Instituteof Environmental Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and HarvardMedical School, Boston University and Sargent College of Health andRehabilitation Sciences.--------© 2004 Onlypunjab.com------------------------------


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