MARCO MACHADO, RAFAEL PEREİRA
European Journal of Geriatrics and Gerontology - 2023;5(1):1-5
Creatine (Cr) has been proposed as an ergogenic resource and the adhesion to its therapeutic use has gained relevance in the last 2 decades. The role of Cr in the aging process has been highlighted, with many studies aiming to understand how aging affects the depletion of Cr resources in muscle and brain, especially because Cr is a natural regulator of energy homeostasis and plays a recognized role in brain function and development, justifying the rising hypothesis that Cr supplementation can help mitigate the effects of aging. Thus, we aimed to review the role of Cr (supplemented or obtained in daily diet) and its metabolism in the aging brain, with emphasis on cognition/memory. PubMed, PsychInfo, EBSCO, Medline, BioMed central and Science Direct, constituted the searched databases. Inclusion criteria specified peer-reviewed studies investigating creatine metabolism and/or creatine supplementation, and assessing cognition, and memory in old adults, and published between January, 2000 to September, 2022. The importance of creatine in the brain’s energy metabolism is well established. The relationship between the decline of cognitive function and brain creatine storage still lacks stronger evidence. Evidence is also lacking on whether creatine supplementation is beneficial in mitigating the neural effects of aging, remaining an open field of studies that brings optimistic perspectives.
