Abstract |
Background: There has been an enormous focus on the discovery and development of neuroprotective agents that might have clinical relevance after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Based on experimental facts, we studied administration of creatine(Cr) to patients with (TBI). Methods: A prospective, randomised, comparative, open labelled pilot study of the possible neuroprotective effect of (Cr) was carried out on 39 children and adolescents, aged between one to eighteen years old, with (TBI). The (Cr) was administered for 6 months, at a dose of 0.4 gr/kg in an oral suspension form every day. For categorical variables, we used the χ² test (Chi-square test) to identify differences between controls and cases. Statistical significance was defined as a p-value <0.05 and not statistically significant if p-value >0.1. Results: The administration of (Cr) to children with (TBI) improved results in several parameters, including duration of post-traumatic amnesia (PTA), duration of intubation, intensive care unit (ICU) stay, disability, good recovery, self care, communication, locomotion, sociability, personality/behavior and neurophysical and cognitive function. Significant improvement was recorded in the categories of cognitive (p<0.001), personality/behaviour (p<0.001), self care (p=0.029), communication (p=0.018) aspects in all patients. No side effects were seen due to creatine administration. Conclusion: Preliminary data suggest that the administration of (Cr) may be beneficial to patients with traumatic brain injury.
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