Creatine use in older Parkinson’s patients:
Creatine appears to be safe for older individuals, according to study by Bender et al. The investigators assessed the long-term effects of creatine supplementation on 60 elderly individuals with Parkinson’s disease. The participants took a dose of 4 g/d of creatine daily for 2 years without major side effects. The most commonly reported side effect resulting from creatine supplementation was gastrointestinal distress and there was no indication of altered kidney function. Overall, creatine was well tolerated in older age patients. (17)
Creatine and cognition in older patients:
A study of 32 older people revealed that creatine supplementation aids cognition in the elderly. Participants were divided into two groups, Group 1 (n = 15) were given 5 g four times a day of placebo for 1 week, followed by the same dosage of creatine for the second week and group 2 (n = 17) were given placebo both weeks. All participants were tested on random number generation, forward and backward number and spatial recall, and long-term memory tasks to establish a baseline level. Participants were retested at the end of each week. Findings showed a significant positive effect of creatine supplementation on all tasks except backward number recall. (18)