Nicotinamide Riboside Opposes Type 2 Diabetes and Neuropathy in Mice.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Animal study without human participants
PubMed 27230286 · doi:10.1038/srep26933
What was done
Male C57BL/6J mice were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) to induce prediabetes or a high-fat diet combined with low-dose streptozotocin to model type 2 diabetes with peripheral neuropathy. Mice were treated with nicotinamide riboside (NR) mixed into the diet. Researchers assessed glucose tolerance, blood glucose, body weight, liver steatosis, nerve structure integrity using in vivo corneal confocal microscopy, and hepatic NADP+ and NADPH levels via quantitative metabolomics.
What was found
The abstract reports directional outcomes without exact numerical data. In prediabetic mice, NR improved glucose tolerance, reduced weight gain, attenuated liver damage and hepatic steatosis, and preserved sensory nerve function. In diabetic mice, NR lowered fasting and non-fasting blood glucose, reduced weight gain and steatosis, and protected against diabetic neuropathy independently of glycemic control alone. Quantitative metabolomics showed that NR supplementation largely prevented the loss of hepatic NADP+ and NADPH seen in both disease models.
Why it matters
This work shows that augmenting NAD+ pathways via oral nicotinamide riboside can mitigate both metabolic deficits and diabetic neurodegeneration in rodents, providing preclinical rationale for human trials.
Limits
The study is entirely preclinical and conducted only in male mice, so efficacy and safety cannot be assumed in humans. The abstract does not report sample sizes, specific NR dosages, treatment duration, or exact numerical values and confidence intervals.
Cited by
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