Creatine, a food supplement frequently used by professional and amateur athletes, may prevent brain damage following traumatic brain injury, according to a new research study.

Creatine is an amino acid produced naturally in the liver, kidney and pancreas and is used as a way to store energy.

Many athletes now use creatine as a dietary supplement to increase muscle mass, strength, and the recovery time of muscles between bursts of activity.

Each year about 7 million people in North America experience traumatic brain injuries (TBI), the most common of which are concussions, caused by motor vehicle accidents, falls, assaults and sports-related activities.

Of these injuries, about 300,000 are due to sports or recreational activities, particularly in the following sports:

• Football
• Hockey
• Wrestling
• Skiing
• Baseball
• Boxing

These concussions can result in subdural hematomas (bleeding under a membrane surrounding the brain), loss of cognitive function or even death.

TBI causes both primary and secondary damage.

• The primary damage occurs at the time of injury as a result of the trauma.

• Secondary damage develops following the injury and can occur as long as days after the initial trauma.

The cause of the secondary injury is not well understood, but appears to be associated with disruption of the regulation of calcium levels in brain cells following injury. Regulation of calcium levels is crucial to mitochondrial function and to proper adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthesis and use.

ATP is a molecule that is present in all living cells and operates as the energy source for the majority of the chemical reactions which take place in cells.

• Researchers found that brain damage in mice were reduced 21 percent and 36 percent when creatine was administered three and five days before the TBI respectively.

• In rats fed a diet supplemented with creatine for four weeks before TBI, brain damage was reduced 50 percent.