Nicotinamide riboside with pterostilbene (NRPT) increases NAD(+) in patients with acute kidney injury (AKI): a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, stepwise safety study of escalating doses of NRPT in patients with AKI

What Was Tested

Researchers studied NAD+ in this randomized controlled trial publication.

Nicotinamide riboside (NR) is a NAD+ precursor vitamin and pterostilbene (PT) is potent sirtuin activator found in blueberries.

Here, the researchers tested the effect of combined NR and PT (NRPT) on whole blood NAD+ levels and safety parameters in patients with AKI.

Who Took Part

The study group was 24 patients.

PubMed indexes the participants as middle-aged adults, older adults and people over 80, both men and women.

The study was comprised of four Steps during which NRPT (5 subjects) or placebo (1 subject) was given twice a day for 2 days.

How the Study Was Run

The design is described as randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and pilot.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got NAD+ and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

As a double-blind NAD+ study, the assignments were hidden from both participants and investigators until the end.

Some patients received a placebo instead of NAD+, giving a reference point.

It is described as a pilot, a small early test of whether a larger NAD+ study would be practical.

A time span of 2 days appears in the methods.

Blood NAD+ levels were measured by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and safety was assessed by history, physical exam, and clinical laboratory testing.

What Was Measured

Here, the researchers tested the effect of combined NR and PT (NRPT) on whole blood NAD+ levels and safety parameters in patients with AKI.

PubMed files the paper under topics including Acute Kidney Injury, Creatinine, Drug Combinations, Glomerular Filtration Rate, NAD, Niacinamide and Pilot Projects.

The authors tagged it with the keywords NAD+, Nicotinamide riboside, Pterostilbene and Safety study.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of NAD+ in 24 patients over 2 days.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

The abstract goes on to report its results in about 8 sentences; this page does not restate them, so read the paper for the findings and their limits.

The publication is from 2020 (BMC nephrology), a journal based in England.

More context: the NAD+ compound page.