Hope for Alzheimer’s patients as new study finds supplement beloved by celebrities and

A supplement beloved by biohackers and celebritiescould ‘restore’ lost memory in Alzheimer’s patients, new research suggests.

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) is a naturally occurring molecule in the body which is vital for energy production, DNA repair and cellular health which  longevity experts have long hailed as being a weapon for fighting age-related disease.

However, it naturally declines with age, and it is believed that poor lifestyle choices —including eating a highly processed diet, smoking, drinking alcohol, and getting sunburnt—can further diminish the body’s reserves.

Now a team of international team of scientists based out of the University of Oslo have discovered it can protect the brain from degeneration caused by Alzheimer’s disease.

They engineered mice to have the human Tau P301S mutation that causes neurodegeneration and memory loss.

These mice demonstrated clear memory deficits which could be observed through a standard behavioural test.

Then they gave the mice nicotinamide mononucleotide, a substance which naturally raise NAD+ levels, and they discovered evidence that their memory skills returned to normal levels. 

Their paper, titled ‘NAD+ reverses Alzheimer’s neurological deficits via regulating differential alternative RNA splicing of RVA1C’, was recently published in the journal Science Advances. 

During season one of The Kardashians on Hulu in 2022, Kendall Jenner was filmed getting the drip with her friend, A-lister Hailey Bieber

‘I’m gonna NAD for the rest of my life, and I’m never gonna age,’ Bieber said as she sat on a couch getting the treatment done alongside Jenner

In Alzheimer’s disease, the presence of abnormal tau, a faulty or misfolded protein, is a hallmark of the illness.

The team’s fresh research revealed NAD+ works through a previously unidentified RNA-splicing path.

RNA is a single-stranded molecule that is a messenger, carrying instructions for the building of proteins.

Meanwhile, RNA splicing, a natural process which can be affected by supplements, edits the instructions for building a protein.

They first discovered age-related changes in RNA splicing in a species of worm and then found NAD+ was able to correct splicing issues caused by toxic tau.

Then through testing it on mice, they discovered it was through a pathway regulated by a protein called EVA1C, that plays a vital role in the RNA splicing process.

They discovered when NAD+ levels are increased, EVA1C helps correct mistakes in RNA splicing.

This restoration process which entails hundreds of genes, they explained, can help reverse damage caused by tau.

Infamous biohacker and longevity entrepreneur Bryan Johnson – who is 47 but has the body of a man in his 30s – also includes NMN supplements into his reverse ageing regime 

The popularity NAD+ has led several treatments to emerge on the market but they’re costly

Lead author Dr Alice Ruixue Ai an Alzheimer’s researcher at the University of Oslo said: ‘Preliminary studies have shown that supplementation with NAD+ precursors, such as (NR) or nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), can offer therapeutic benefits in AD [Alzheimer’s disease] animal models and early clinical trials.

‘However, the molecular mechanisms behind these benefits remain largely unclear.’

Associate Professor Evandro Fei Fang-Stavem, one of the other researchers from the same university added: ‘Notably, we found when the EVA1C gene was knocked down, these benefits were lost, confirming that EVA1C is essential for NAD+ mediated neuroprotection.’

‘We propose that maintaining NAD⁺ levels could help preserve neuronal identity and delay cognitive decline, paving the way for combination treatments to enhance RNA splicing,’ added Dr Ai.

They did the research in collaboration with Professor Oscar Junhong Luo from Jinan University, China, and Associate Professor Joana M. Silva from the University of Minho, Portugal.

Longevity experts have previously described NAD+ as ‘the fountain of youth’, and one of its most famous devotees thinks the same. 

In 2022, Hailey Bieber and Kendall Jenner took NAD+ IV drips out of the elite wellness sphere and put it front and centre of pop culture when they discussed the treatment in the first series of The Kardashians.

‘I’m gonna NAD for the rest of my life, and I’m never gonna age,’ Bieber said while sat on a couch getting the treatment done alongside Jenner.

You don’t need to fly to Calabasas to try the treatment for yourself. 

NAD+ infusion treatments are available in the UK at specialised wellness clinics, but they come at a high price ranging from £150 and £800 per session depending on the dose.

There are also NAD+ supplements, kits and at home injections emerging on the market.

But similarly, these supplements, such as MitoQ’s NAD+ dual action priced at the moment at £44.16 per month, can be costly.

Infamous biohacker and longevity entrepreneur Bryan Johnson—who is 47 but claims to have the biological markers of a man in his 30s—also includes NMN supplements into his reverse ageing regime.