Mixed
Oral administration of 30 mg deuterated creatine (D3-creatine) allows for the estimation of total body skeletal muscle mass via urine D3-creatinine enrichment, providing estimates that correlate strongly with MRI but exhibit high intraindividual variability compared to MRI or DXA.
This study validates a method to measure muscle mass using a specific labeled creatine tracer and urine analysis. It is not a supplement regimen for building muscle, but a diagnostic tool. For now, it remains a research method due to cost and complexity, though it aims to eventually replace expensive imaging like MRI for tracking muscle wasting in clinical settings.
D3-creatinine urinary enrichment from day 5 provided muscle mass estimates that correlated with MRI for all subjects (r = 0.88, P < 0.0001), with less bias [difference from MRI = -3.00 ± 2.75 (SD) kg] than total LBM assessment by DXA... However, intraindividual variability was high with the D3-creatine dilution method, with intrasubject SD for estimated muscle mass of 2.5 kg vs. MRI (0.5 kg) and DXA (0.8 kg).
Why this rating
Small sample size (n=18), pilot study design, and high variability limit generalizability.
Source
Creatine (<i>methyl</i>-d<sub>3</sub>) dilution in urine for estimation of total body skeletal muscle mass: accuracy and variability vs. MRI and DXA
Richard V. Clark et al. · Journal of Applied Physiology · 2017
DOI 10.1152/japplphysiol.00455.2016
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