No effect of creatine on respiratory distress in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

摘要

Objective: To evaluate the effect of creatine supplementation on the respiratory function of patients with advanced amyo-trophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) Methods: Five grams creatine daily were administered orally to 14 patients with definite advanced ALS. For comparison we used a group of 13 patients with a similar respiratory function. All patients performed pulmonary function testing including forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume (FEV_1), peak expiratory flow rate (PEF) and maximum voluntary ventilation (MVV)-expressed as percent of the predicted value-at base-line and each month thereafter. Results: There was no significant difference in any measured variable between the treatment group and the control group at 1, 2, 3 and 4 months follow-up. There-after the high patient drop-out rate did not allow statistical evaluation. Conclusion: The present study did not show any clinically significant, long-term effect of creatine on the function of respiratory muscles in ALS patients with respiratory distress.