Clinical Trial: Effects of Oral Supplementation With Creatine on Systemic Microvascular Endothelial Function in Vegetarian Individuals

Study Status: Recruiting
Recruit Status: Recruiting
Study Type: Interventional

Official Title: Effects of Oral Supplementation With Creatine on Plasma Homocysteine Levels and Systemic Microvascular Endothelial Function in Vegetarian Individuals

Brief Summary: The present study aims at investigating the effects of the oral supplementation with creatine on the systemic microvascular reactivity and plasma levels of homocysteine in vegetarian individuals of the vegan type.

Detailed Summary:

A vegetarian is an individual who lives on a diet of grains, pulses, legumes, nuts, seeds, vegetables, fruits, fungi, algae, yeast and/or some other non-animal-based foods, with or without, dairy products, honey and/or eggs. A vegetarian does not eat foods that consist of, or have been produced with the aid of products consisting of or created from, any part of the body of a living or dead animal. This includes meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, insects, by-products of slaughter** or any food made with processing aids created from these.

There are different types of vegetarian: i) Lacto-ovo-vegetarians eat both dairy products and eggs; this is the most common type of vegetarian diet; ii) Lacto-vegetarians eat dairy products but avoid eggs; iii) Ovo-vegetarians eat eggs but not dairy products; iv) Vegans do not eat dairy products, eggs, or any other products which are derived from animals.

Vegetarian individuals are considered to have lower cardiovascular risk for the development of cardiovascular diseases and lower cardiovascular mortality, when compared to omnivore individuals.

Nevertheless, some vegetarian diets may result in the deficiency of micronutrients and induce deficiency in some compounds such as vitamins, amino-acids, iron, zinc, calcium, omega-3 fatty acids and so on.

Moreover, vegetarian individuals can present deficiency in amino-acids such as carnosine and creatine, present essentially in the skeletal muscle of animals. In this context, deficiency in creatine has been considered as a risk factor for hyperhomocysteinemia and the consequent dysfunction of the vascular endothelium.

Hyperhomocysteinemia also is known to be an independent risk factor for cardiovascula
Sponsor: National Institute of Cardiology, Laranjeiras, Brazil

Current Primary Outcome: Reactivity of the systemic microcirculation [ Time Frame: three-week treatment ]

Assessment of the endothelial-dependent microvascular reactivity in the skin using laser speckle contrast imaging


Original Primary Outcome: Same as current

Current Secondary Outcome:

  • cutaneous microvascular density [ Time Frame: three-week treatment ]
    Assessment of skin microvascular density using video-capillaroscopy
  • Homocysteine levels in the plasma [ Time Frame: three-week treatment ]


Original Secondary Outcome: Same as current

Information By: National Institute of Cardiology, Laranjeiras, Brazil

Dates:
Date Received: November 7, 2016
Date Started: January 2015
Date Completion: June 2017
Last Updated: November 9, 2016
Last Verified: November 2016