NR-SAFE: a randomized, double-blind safety trial of high dose nicotinamide riboside in Parkinson's disease

What Was Tested

The paper reports a study of NAD+ in the context of parkinson's disease, published as a randomized controlled trial.

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) replenishment therapy using nicotinamide riboside (NR) shows promise for Parkinson's disease (PD) and other neurodegenerative disorders.

The trial was conducted at the Department of Neurology, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway.

Who Took Part

According to the abstract, 20 individuals were involved.

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study.

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

Neither the individuals nor the staff measuring them knew who was on NAD+, so expectations could not easily colour the readings.

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

The methods mention a period of four weeks.

What Was Measured

The primary outcome was safety, defined as the frequency of moderate and severe adverse events.

Secondary outcomes were tolerability defined as frequency of mild adverse events, change in the whole blood and urine NAD metabolome, and change in the clinical severity of PD, measured by MDS-UPDRS.

PubMed files the paper under topics including Parkinson Disease, NAD, Niacinamide and Pyridinium Compounds.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of NAD+ in 20 individuals in people with parkinson's disease over four weeks.

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 publication is from 2023 (Nature communications), a journal based in England.

More context: the NAD+ compound page, Parkinson's disease research.