Creatine plus exercise improves symptoms in dermatomyositis and polymyositis

Researchers in the UK and Sweden conducted a study to see if taking creatine supplements with exercise was more effective than exercise alone in improving muscle function in people with dermatomyositis or polymyositis who were weak. In a six-month trial, 37 individuals were randomly assigned to one of two groups, either taking creatine supplements (19 people) or taking a sugar pill (placebo) (18 people). All individuals did home exercises. The researchers found that taking creatine supplements combined with home exercises improved muscle function without significant adverse effects.

Source: Chung, Yuen-li, Helene Alexanderson, Nicoló Pipitone, Catherine Morrison, Maryam Dastmalchi, Christina Ståhl-Hallengren, Selwyn Richards, E. Louise Thomas, Gavin Hamilton, Jimmy D. Bell, Ingrid E. Lundberg, & David L. Scott. "Creatine supplements in patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies who are clinically weak after conventional pharmacologic treatment: Six-month, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial." Arthritis Care & Research 57(2007): 694-702.