[Tupelo3]

Despite early promise and a great deal of interest in creatine monohydrate as a possible treatment for Parkinson's disease (PD), a large new double-blind, placebo-controlled trial found that this treatment does not improve clinical outcomes in patients with PD.

The new findings "do not support the use of creatine" in patients with early PD treated with background dopaminergic therapy, the study authors, with corresponding author Karl Kieburtz, MD, MPH, from the University of Rochester Center for Human Experimental Therapeutics, New York, conclude.

The trial was terminated early for futility on the basis of an interim analysis of 955 participants who had completed 5 years of follow-up.

"Unfortunately, I think this study is truly the nail in the coffin for creatine in Parkinson's disease," commented Alberto Espay, MD, associate professor, neurology, Gardner Center for Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders, University of Cincinnati, Ohio, and spokesperson for the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society, who was not part of the study group.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/839567