The NADPARK study: A randomized phase I trial of nicotinamide riboside supplementation in Parkinson's disease.
Level 2 - randomized trial
Individual randomized controlled trial
PubMed 35235774 · doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2022.02.001
What was done
In a double-blind phase I randomized controlled trial, 30 newly diagnosed, treatment-naive patients with Parkinson's disease were randomized to receive 1,000 mg oral nicotinamide riboside (NR) daily or placebo for 30 days. The trial evaluated safety, brain NAD levels using 31-phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy, cerebral metabolism via 18F-FDG PET, blood and skeletal muscle gene expression, and inflammatory cytokines in serum and cerebrospinal fluid.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical values, baseline/post-treatment statistics, effect sizes, or p-values. It reports that NR was well tolerated, significantly but variably increased cerebral NAD levels and related CSF metabolites, altered cerebral metabolism on FDG-PET in association with mild clinical improvement, upregulated mitochondrial, lysosomal, and proteasomal pathways in blood/muscle, and reduced inflammatory cytokines in serum and CSF.
Why it matters
This study provides early proof-of-concept evidence that oral nicotinamide riboside enters the central nervous system, augments cerebral NAD levels, and modulates downstream metabolic and inflammatory pathways in patients with Parkinson's disease.
Limits
The sample size is very small (n = 30), the treatment duration was short (30 days), the abstract provides no numerical data or effect sizes, and the findings are restricted to newly diagnosed, treatment-naive individuals.
Cited by
- supports Nicotinamide riboside supplementation increases NAD levels in humans.