Posted on 02/27/2025 8:46:12 PM PST by ConservativeMind
There is growing evidence that creatine may be beneficial as a pregnancy supplement, and new research suggests it could have benefits in protecting the brain when a baby is starved of oxygen.
Hypoxic–ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) can happen when not enough oxygen or blood goes to the baby's brain, causing the brain to be injured, but creatine appears to help it bounce back and restore proper function.
The latest research extends previous findings, showing that creatine is not just beneficial in restoring brain function, but also in minimizing damage in the first place.
Dr. Nhi Tran used a pre-clinical model to record the electrical activity in the brain of fetuses that had suffered oxygen starvation, some of which had received continuous creatine supplementation during late pregnancy.
"We know that creatine plays a role in healthy pregnancy progression and in utero development, and our latest research shows that it is also beneficial to the baby before birth, especially in compromised pregnancies," Dr. Tran said.
"This study is based upon foundational evidence that creatine supplementation has a positive effect on the biochemical changes that lead to brain injury," she said. "It provides a foundation of evidence to show that creatine supplementation can suppress the cellular and physiological changes within the brain that cause brain injury."
The results showed improvements in neuronal function and reductions in seizures, neuroinflammation and brain cell death among the cohort that received creatine.
"We know that creatine provides an 'energy buffer,' and it appears this is beneficial in protecting the brain from serious damage," said Dr. Robert Galinsky.
"HIE can cause cerebral palsy, impaired hearing and vision, learning and behavioral difficulties later in life, so our results suggest that in pregnancies where the fetus is deprived of oxygen, creatine could be beneficial."
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
I add it to my morning smoothie and found it very beneficial.
Potential Benefits of Creatine for Sleep Apnea
Increased muscle strength and endurance:
Creatine may improve muscle strength and endurance, which could help reduce snoring and sleep apnea episodes.
Reduced inflammation:
Creatine has anti-inflammatory properties, which may help reduce inflammation in the airways associated with sleep apnea.
Improved sleep quality:
Some studies suggest that creatine supplementation may improve sleep quality, including reducing sleep disturbances and increasing sleep duration.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6769464/
Creatine for the Treatment of Depression
3. Conclusions
Creatine is a naturally-occurring organic acid that serves as an energy buffer and energy shuttle in tissues, such as brain and skeletal muscle, that exhibit dynamic energy requirements. Evidence, deriving from a variety of scientific domains, that brain bioenergetics are altered in depression and related disorders is growing. Clinical studies in neurological conditions such as PD have indicated that creatine might have an antidepressant effect, and early clinical studies in depressive disorders—especially MDD—indicate that creatine may have an important antidepressant effect. Future work should, we think, involve larger clinical trials of creatine when used as an adjunctive treatment in MDD, extend to encompass trials of creatine as monotherapy, examine the potential efficacy of creatine as an augmenting agent when combined with neurostimulation techniques such as ECT and TMS, and better characterize the neurochemical and network-level effects of creatine and their correlations with antidepressant response.
How creatine helps with hypoxia
Cognitive performance
Creatine supplementation can help with hypoxia-induced cognitive decline, such as decreased attentional capacity.
Muscle damage
Creatine supplementation can help protect the diaphragm of a newborn from hypoxia-induced damage.
Cellular adaptation
Creatine supplementation can increase the cellular adaptive response to hypoxia.
How hypoxia affects creatine
Cardiomyocytes: Hypoxia decreases creatine uptake in cardiomyocytes.
Energy metabolism: Hypoxia interferes with energy metabolism, including the activity of the creatine energy shuttle.
How creatine works
ATP production: Creatine increases phosphocreatine, the major pool for ATP synthesis.
Free radicals: Creatine scavenges free radicals.
Muscle growth: Creatine supplementation can enhance muscle growth.
Acid-base balance: The creatine/phosphocreatine system is involved in acid-base balance.
Contractile function: Creatine decreases ionic strength to improve contractile function.
Hmmmm. Didn’t know this, will have to check it out.
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