effects of complementary creatine monohydrate and physical training on inflammatory and endothelial dysfunction markers among heart failure patients

Background: previous studies have reported endothelial dysfunction and inflammatory cytokine in heart failure patients (hf). objectives: the purpose of this study was to determine the effects of creatine monohydrate and exercise on inflammatory and endothelial dysfunction markers among hf patients. patients and methods: one hundred patients were prospectively randomized into two groups: intervention group which received 5 grams/day creatine monohydrate and exercised for 8 weeks; and control group which did not receive any interventions. interleukine-6 (il-6), high sensitivity c reactive protein (hs-crp), p-selectin, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (icam-1), and vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (vcam-1) were measured at the start and end of the study for both groups. results: in total, 100 patients including 50 controls and 50 intervention group (54% male, mean ef of 34.2 ± 10.5% and 52% male, mean ef of 35.6 ± 12.7%, respectively) were analyzed. the serum levels of hs-crp and il-6 increased at the end of the study in the control group compared to the baseline, (7.5 ± 1.5 mg/l vs. 6.9 ± 1.3 mg/l, p < 0.05 and 3.0 ± 0.75 ng/l vs. 2.55 ± 0.9 ng/l, p < 0.05, respectively). however, compared to the baseline, the level of both markers decreased at the end of the study in the intervention group (6.3 ± 1.6 mg/l vs.7.5 ± 1.5 mg/l, p < 0.05 and 2.1 ± 0.8 ng/l vs.2.5 ± 0.5 ng/l, p < 0.05). also, p-selectin and icam-1 levels increased at the end of study (56.9 ± 1.8 ng/l vs. 51.9 ± 1.5 ng/l, p < 0.05 and 368.1 ± 25.4 μg/l vs. 353.1 ± 10.4 μg/l, p < 0.05 respectively). inversely, the levels of these markers decreased in the intervention group, at the end of study (49.7 ± 1.9 ng/l vs. 51.4 ± 2.1 ng/l, p < 0.05 and 342.7 ± 16.5 μg/l vs. 350.4 ± 14.7 μg/l, p < 0.05, respectively). vcam-1 level was not decreased significantly at the end of the study in the intervention group (570.5 ± 78.4 μg/l vs. 575.3 ± 86.5 μg/l, p > 0.05). conclusions: combination of creatine monohydrate and exercise attenuated inflammation and endothelial dysfunction markers among heart failure patients.