B3 vitamin form may aid in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.
Over 10 million individuals worldwide suffer from Parkinson’s disease. For now, there is no treatment for Parkinson’s disease. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), an energy molecule, has been the subject of research for a few years as a potential treatment for the illness. A high dose of NR, a form of vitamin B3, has been shown in a phase 1 clinical trial to help raise NAD+ levels in Parkinson’s disease patients. Parkinson’s disease clinical symptom improvement may be linked to NR supplementation. According to research, Parkinson’s disease affects over 10 million people worldwide, making it the second most common neurodegenerative illness after Alzheimer’s. For now, there is no treatment for Parkinson’s disease. Through the various stages of the disease, symptoms are managed with medication, lifestyle modifications, and occasionally surgery. In recent years, scientists have also investigated nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), a crucial molecule that aids in the body’s energy production, as a potential Parkinson’s disease treatment.
Previous studies indicate that NAD+ deficiency may be present in Parkinson’s patients, and raising NAD+ levels may be beneficial. According to a phase 1 clinical trial, giving patients with Parkinson’s disease high dose supplements of nicotinamide riboside (NR), a precursor to NAD+ and a source of vitamin B3, increased their whole blood NAD+ levels and expanded their NAD+ metabolome. These findings may be linked to a reduction in their clinical symptoms. It is still early in the research process, so it cannot be definitively established that supplementing with NR will alleviate Parkinson’s disease symptoms. The journal Nature Communications published the study not too long ago. As stated by Prof. “NR is a form of vitamin B3 and a precursor of NAD+,” says co-lead author Charalampos Tzoulis, a professor of neurology and neurogenetics at the University of Bergen and Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway. According to Dr. Tzoulis, who spoke with Medical News Today, NAD+ is a necessary coenzyme that is involved in a number of biological functions, such as DNA repair, regulation of gene expression, and mitochondrial function—the cell’s powerhouses that handle energy.
He continued, “Research has demonstrated that aberrant energy metabolism, resulting from dysfunction in the mitochondria, occurs in the brain of individuals with Parkinson’s disease and is thought to contribute to the onset and advancement of the disease.”. Dr. NAD+ levels typically decrease with age, according to Daniel Truong, a neurologist who is the medical director of the Truong Neuroscience Institute at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California, and the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Clinical Parkinsonism and Related Disorders. Truong was not involved in this study. According to Dr. Truong, energy metabolism, mitochondrial function, anti-aging, and DNA repair are a few possible applications and advantages of NR. According to certain studies, NR may have neuroprotective qualities. The ChromaDex External Research Program (CERPTM) funded this study by donating Niagen®, a patented NR ingredient from ChromaDex, to further the research.
Twenty people with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease participated in the phase 1 clinical trial. Over four weeks, participants were given a daily dose of either 3,000 mg of NR in the form of an oral supplement or a placebo. Following that, an ECG, clinical and molecular measurements, and the MDS-UPDRS rating scale were used to evaluate study participants’ degree of Parkinson’s disease symptoms. Compared to patients who received a placebo, researchers observed that NR significantly raised NAD+ levels and altered the NAD+ metabolome in whole blood. The Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) was used to measure clinical symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, and the study’s findings indicate that high-dose NR was both safe and well-tolerated by study participants. These findings suggest that increasing NAD+ levels may have a symptomatic anti-Parkinson’s effect. According to Dr. Tzoulis, the study demonstrated that a high dose of NR 3 gr [grams] per day of treatment is safe for a month when used short-term and could therefore be investigated in longer-term clinical trials. It is important to emphasize that our study does not prove that this NR dose is generally safe or that taking it for longer than 30 days is safe. Longer-term research is still needed to determine this.
Furthermore, he added, the study demonstrated that taking NR 3 gr daily causes a significant rise in blood NAD levels and associated metabolites without having any negative metabolic effects after 30 days. He did, however, issue a warning, stating that even though the study found a slight clinical improvement linked to NR treatment, this cannot be taken to indicate a clinical effect because the purpose of the study was not to find a clinical improvement. This study’s primary goal was to ascertain the 3,000 mg NR daily’s short-term safety. We must investigate higher-dose regimens in order to fully utilize NR’s therapeutic potential, according to Dr. Tzoulis. The short-term safety of 3,000 mg NR daily is established by this study, opening the door for future therapeutic trials to investigate high-dose options. He continued, “We look forward to the results from our year-long NO-PARK phase 2/3 study on 400 persons with Parkinson’s disease, which is already ongoing at our Center and estimated to conclude by the end of 2024, as conclusive proof on the therapeutic potential of NR in Parkinson’s disease.”. You can view public information about the NO-PARK study at clinicaltrials.gov and neuro-sysmed.com.
Movement disorders neurologist Dr. Rocco DiPaola of the Hackensack Meridian Neuroscience Institute at Jersey Shore University Medical Center told MNT that after reading this study, his initial impression is that it offers a possible treatment that might help slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease. Neuroprotection is a treatment that may help avoid some of the long-term complications associated with advancing disease, but there [are] currently no treatments that offer this. To prove safety, the current study was conducted on a small scale and for a brief period of time. It would take a large-scale trial with [a] longer treatment duration to confirm safety and a neuroprotective benefit. Dr. Truong concurred, pointing out that while the results are encouraging, larger, longer-term trials—especially double-blind ones—are necessary to duplicate and build upon this one study’s findings. He went on, “I find the study’s suggested mechanism of action, which involves raising NAD+ levels and possibly having neuroprotective effects, to be quite intriguing.”. They would like to know how this could be incorporated, taking patient tolerance and safety profile into account, into the current Parkinson’s disease treatment protocols. Dr. Truong continued, “Any possible new therapeutic avenue is of interest given the current status of treating Parkinson’s disease.”. Particularly alluring is the notion of a supplement that might lessen clinical symptoms and even stop the course of the illness.
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