NAD+ and Parkinson’s Disease — Early Clinical Evidence for Neuroprotection

One of the most compelling areas of emerging NAD+ research is its potential role in neurological health — and a landmark clinical trial has provided some of the first human evidence that NAD+ replenishment may have meaningful neuroprotective effects in Parkinson’s disease.

The NADPARK study was a double-blinded phase I clinical trial investigating whether oral nicotinamide riboside — a precursor to NAD+ — could safely raise brain NAD levels and impact cerebral metabolism in people with Parkinson’s disease. Thirty newly diagnosed, treatment-naive patients received either 1,000mg of NR or placebo for 30 days.

The findings were significant. NR treatment was well tolerated and led to measurable increases in cerebral NAD levels, confirmed by advanced brain imaging. Patients whose brain NAD levels increased showed altered cerebral metabolism — and importantly, this was associated with mild clinical improvement. NR also decreased inflammatory markers in both blood serum and cerebrospinal fluid, and upregulated processes related to mitochondrial, lysosomal and proteasomal function.

The authors concluded that NR represents a potential neuroprotective therapy for Parkinson’s disease, warranting investigation in larger trials.

While this research is still in early stages, it adds to a growing body of evidence that NAD+ plays a critical role in brain health, mitochondrial function and the management of neuroinflammation — mechanisms that extend well beyond Parkinson’s disease into healthy brain ageing more broadly.

Source: Brakedal et al., Cell Metabolism, 2022. The NADPARK Study.
Read the full study here