Chapter 1 Introduction – Creatine: Cheap Ergogenic Supplement with Great Potential for Health and Disease

The appearance in print of the present volume of the “Subcellular Biochemistry” Series entitled “Creatine and Creatine Kinase in Health and Disease”, edited by Gajja S. Salomons and Markus Wyss, seems entirely timely. The importance and physiological significance of creatine kinase (CK) as well as the pleiotropic effects of creatine (Cr) and phosphocreatine (PCr) in health and disease have been largely underappreciated historically. Based on new discoveries in recent years, however, they are currently attracting much interest and even experience center stage attention, for instance with the recently announced large clinical Cr study with Parkinson’s patients in the USA (Couzin, 2007). The comprehensive earlier review on “Creatine and Creatinine Metabolism” by Markus Wyss and KaddurahDaouk (2000), as well as the most recent review on Cr by John and Margaret Brosnan (2007), give a pre-taste of this new and exciting era of CKand Cr-related research to come. The volume presented here, as well as a new book on “Molecular Systems Bioenergetics: Energy for Life, Basic Principles, Organization and Dynamics of Cellular Energetics”, edited by Valdur A. Saks (2007), provide a comprehensive overview of the field, with emphasis on complementary facets of this broad topic. The Saks book focuses on new data and theories derived mainly from basic science, taking a holistic systems biology approach to explain CK and related phosphotransfer systems, including mathematical modeling of metabolic and signaling networks related to bioenergetics. Conversely, the present volume links the basics of the CK