Oral creatine supplementation: A potential adjunct therapy for rheumatoid arthritis patients

Table 4 Summary of clinical trials investigating the effects of creatine supplementation on body composition and physical function

Condition	Treatment arm	Supplementation period	Control arm	Body composition changes	Physical function changes	Other effects	Ref.
Osteoarthritis	n = 18	10 g/d pre surgery; 5 g/d for 30 d post-surgery	vs PL (n = 19) (dextrose)	2% BF, 2FM, 3LM (CSA), 3BW	3Strength	3PCr	[106]
Fibromyalgia	n = 16	20 g/d for 5 d followed by 5 g/d for 16 wk	vs PL (n = 16) (dextrose)	Not measured	1Strength	3QoL scores, 3Pain, 3Cognition, 1PCr	[109]
Cancer (cachexia)	n = 16 (colorectal cancer)	20 g/d for 5 d followed by 5 g/d for 8 wk	vs PL (n = 15) (cellulose)	3LM	1Strength	3QoL scores	[118]
	n = 9 (adolescents with leukaemia (acute lymphoblastic)	2 sets of 8 wk (with a 6 wk wash out in-between)	vs control “natural history group” (n = 50)	3LM, 2%BF	No details	3Bone mineral content	[119]
Duchenne muscular dystrophy	n = 18 (adolescents)	5 g/d for 8 wk	vs PL (n = 15) (vitamin C)	No details	1Strength	1PCr	[113]
	n = 15 (adolescents)	5 g/d for 24 wk	vs PL (n = 16) (cocoa powder)	No details	3Strength, 3Objective function tests		[116]
	n = 30 (adolescents)	0.10 g per kg/d for 16 wk	Cross-over design (PL group dextrose)	1LM	1Strength	2Bone breakdown markers	[112]
	n = 15 (adolescents) (12 with DMD and 3 with Becker dystrophy)	3 g/d for 13 wk	Cross-over design (PL group maltodextrin)	No details	1Strength (MVC), 1Fatigue resistance		[62]
Mytonic muscular dystrophy 1 (DM1)	n = 34	5 g/d for 36 wk	Cross-over design (PL group dextrose)	3LM	3Strength, 3Objective function tests		[115]
	n = 34	10.6 g/d for 10 d followed by 5.3 g/d for 45 d	Cross-over design (PL group cellulose)	3LM	3Strength	3ADL, 3QoL scores	[114]
Mytonic muscular dystrophy 2 (DM2)	n = 10	10 g/d for 13 wk	vs PL (n = 10)	No details	3Strength	3QoL scores	[117]

¹Significant increase/improvement;

²Significant decrease/reduction;

³No significant change (^aP < 0.05 for interaction between placebo and Cr group). Cr: Creatine; PL: Placebo; CSA: Cross sectional area; ADL: Activities of daily living; PCr: Phosphocreatine; QoL: Quality of life; MVC: Maximal voluntary contraction; BM: Body mass; FM: Fat mass; LM: Lean mass; PRT: Progressive resistance training; No details: No details are specified or this measure was not made.