International Creatine Conference 2022

In addition to leading scientists in the field, the online event brought together health, exercise, nutrition and wellness experts, young researchers, entrepreneurs and students from around the world to discuss the role of creatine in health. A total of 27 presentations provided a clear picture of the state of research on creatine's potential in cancer research, reproductive medicine, dialysis patients, and cardiovascular health, among others. In addition, panel discussions provided an opportunity for professional exchange. The digital conference was hosted by the Scientific Advisory Board "Creatine in Health" of Alzchem Group AG - Creapure®, the Exercise and Sport Nutrition Laboratory Texas A&M and the Dynamical Business & Science Society - DBSS International. 

Since the early 1990s, creatine has been known as an effective dietary supplement for athletes: it has a positive effect on muscle growth, strength development and regeneration. The reason for this is the role of creatine in the energy balance of the body's cells. Since then, this effect and its causes have been extensively researched - and long since not only with regard to performance enhancement in sports.  

The daily requirement of creatine is partly synthesized in the kidneys and liver, and partly supplied by food. In the body, creatine serves to transport energy and as an energy buffer: Put simply, it ensures that there is always sufficient energy available at the cellular level for the cell's respective function. This applies to muscle cells - hence the now well-researched effectiveness in connection with sports - but in principle just as much to other body cells. This is where the research work on creatine comes in. The fundamental question: For whom and under what circumstances would creatine supplementation make sense? The International Creatine Conference provided the perfect setting for an intensive exchange among leading experts on the relevant issues.   

A large number of studies show that creatine, particularly in the form of creatine monohydrate, can be used for clinical and therapeutic treatment in numerous indications. In the study "Creatine in Health and Disease," presented at the conference, Prof. Richard Kreider of Texas A&M University and Prof. Jeffrey Stout of the University of Central Florida reviewed more than 1,300 articles on the subject. They found that creatine can promote general health and well-being at any age, prevent loss of muscle mass in old age, improve cognitive function, facilitate glucose management in diabetes, protect the heart, have anti-inflammatory effects, support the immune system, alleviate symptoms in chronic fatigue syndromes, and promote mental as well as reproductive and skin health - in these fields and others, creatine shows potential for therapeutic use.  

"The fact that a substance long perceived only as an effective dietary supplement for athletes has such a potentially broad spectrum of effects may seem surprising at first glance," explains Dr. Jürgen Bezler, VP of Human Nutrition at Alzchem. "But creatine's function in providing energy in cells is such a fundamental one that research in very different clinical and therapeutic directions holds promise. And with this conference, we are pleased to have fostered exchange among authoritative experts and certainly to have provided inspiration for further research."