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Cited by 174Muscle metabolism and nutritionBiochemical effects in animalsNeurological Disorders and Treatments

Creatine Supplementation and Brain Health

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Roschel, Hamilton, Gualano, Bruno, Ostojic, Sergej M., Rawson, Eric S.·2021·Nutrients
DOI 10.3390/nu13020586PMC PMC7916590
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Abstract

There is a robust and compelling body of evidence supporting the ergogenic and therapeutic role of creatine supplementation in muscle. Beyond these well-described effects and mechanisms, there is literature to suggest that creatine may also be beneficial to brain health (e.g., cognitive processing, brain function, and recovery from trauma). This is a growing field of research, and the purpose of this short review is to provide an update on the effects of creatine supplementation on brain health in humans. There is a potential for creatine supplementation to improve cognitive processing, especially in conditions characterized by brain creatine deficits, which could be induced by acute stressors (e.g., exercise, sleep deprivation) or chronic, pathologic conditions (e.g., creatine synthesis enzyme deficiencies, mild traumatic brain injury, aging, Alzheimer’s disease, depression). Despite this, the optimal creatine protocol able to increase brain creatine levels is still to be determined. Similarly, supplementation studies concomitantly assessing brain creatine and cognitive function are needed. Collectively, data available are promising and future research in the area is warranted.

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  • CrM loading or low-dose long-term intake increases brain creatine content by 5-15%.

    “and brain creatine content by 5–15% [72,73,74,75,76,77].”

    From Bioavailability, Efficacy, Safety, and Regulatory Status of Creatine and Related Compounds: A Critical Review (2022) · cites this paper as [74]

    Section 2 reports that nine of twelve studies found significant increases in brain creatine, averaging about 5–10%, rather than establishing a 5–15% range. It also says the optimal supplementation strategy is unclear and does not establish that either loading or low-dose long-term intake reliably produces that increase. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Roschel, H., Gualano, B., Ostojic, S. M., & Rawson, E. S.
Affiliations
  • Universidade de São Paulo (BR)
  • FSPE Applied Bioenergetics Lab, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
  • Messiah University (US)
Corresponding author
Roschel, Hamilton
ORCID
Venue
Nutrients
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2021-02-10
Volume
13
Issue
2
Pages
586
ISSN
2072-6643 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3390/nu13020586
PMC
PMC7916590
OpenAlex
W3129109703
Cited by
174
References
21
Citations by year
2026: 31 · 2025: 37 · 2024: 44 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 25 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 1
FWCI
3.40
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Nutrients (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Muscle metabolism and nutrition
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Biochemical effects in animals
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neurological Disorders and Treatments
Keywords
creatine supplementation, brain health, cognitive function, mild traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer's disease, depression, aging, sleep deprivation, physical activity, trauma recovery
MeSH terms
Aging, Alzheimer Disease, Blood-Brain Barrier, Brain, Brain Concussion, Brain Injuries, Cognition, Creatine, Female, Health Status, Humans, Male, Exercise, Muscle, Skeletal, Dietary Supplements, Performance-Enhancing Substances

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