by Dr. Joseph Mercola, Mercola:
Story at-a-glance
- Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) is central to cellular energy and mitochondrial health, driving redox reactions that produce ATP. Declining levels are linked to metabolic disorders, sarcopenia, and diabetes
- Alzheimer’s disease has strongly associated with disrupted NAD+ balance, and research suggests restoring intake can reverse cognitive decline rather than merely slowing disease progression
- Animal studies show restoring NAD+ fully reversed advanced Alzheimer’s features, including memory loss, inflammation, tau pathology, oxidative stress, and DNA damage, even after severe disease was established
TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/
- NAD+ functions as an upstream regulator of brain resilience, coordinating energy production, DNA repair, inflammation control, and protein processing, reframing Alzheimer’s as a systems-level energy failure
- Practical strategies emphasize testing NAD+ status and supporting production safely via niacinamide alongside adequate intake of other B vitamins
Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) may be one of the most overlooked factors when it comes to optimizing cellular health. It is a cellular coenzyme that plays a role in many metabolic and signaling reactions.
For example, it partakes in redox reactions — chemical exchanges that transfer energy between molecules — which lead to the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), your body’s energy currency.1 In fact, research shows that a deficiency is linked to an array of conditions, such as sarcopenia and diabetes.2
But that’s not all — Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia,3 has now been linked to declining NAD+ levels. Following this line of thought, emerging research shows that boosting NAD+ intake can reverse the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. This discovery could be one of the biggest breakthroughs in recent times, as most people believe that Alzheimer’s only worsens the longer it goes,4 and treatment focuses on slowing decline rather than reversing it.
Restoring Brain Energy Reversed Advanced Alzheimer’s in Animal Models
A study published in Cell Reports Medicine set out to discover how Alzheimer’s disease can be reversed by boosting NAD+ levels. For the experiment, the researchers used multiple mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease that already showed severe cognitive impairment, brain inflammation, tau pathology, and structural brain damage.5
Mice were administered P7C3-A20 at a dosage of 10 milligrams (mg) per kilogram (kg) of weight each day. Analysis involved observing changes across behavior, brain chemistry, and physical brain structure. For context, P7C3-A20 is a carbazole compound that can readily cross the blood-brain barrier. It works by binding to NAMPT (an enzyme that controls how much NAD+ is made from niacinamide) to enhance NAD+ production6 at safe levels.
