New Study Shows 1000 mg Nicotinamide Riboside Improved Walking in PAD Patients

In a recent interview, Northwestern’s Dr. Mary McDermott discussed key findings from her team’s randomized clinical trial investigating whether NAD+ booster Nicotinamide Riboside “NR” (FAQs) (Anecdotes) can enhance walking performance in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD). The results (using 1000 mg NR) showed that NR significantly improved six-minute walking distance and treadmill walking time in PAD patients. A transcript and video of Dr. McDermott’s interview below:

Interview with Dr. McDermott (Link):

“I’m Mary McDermott, and I am at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

So, Nicotinamide Riboside or NR is rapidly metabolized in humans to NAD.

And NAD is an essential co-factor and enzyme for mitochondrial activity.

It reduces oxidative stress and it increases nitric oxide through eNOS (endothelial nitric oxide synthase).

NAD declines with age.

And, for patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD), all of those three actions that I mentioned — increasing mitochondrial activity, reducing oxidative stress, and increasing nitric oxide to improve blood flow — all have the potential to help people with peripheral artery disease walk better.

This was a phase 2 randomized clinical trial.

We randomized 90 people with peripheral artery disease to Nicotinamide Riboside alone, Nicotinamide Riboside with Resveratrol, or Placebo.

And the rationale for the Resveratrol with Nicotinamide Riboside was that Resveratrol may increase the effects of NR on Sirt1, an enzyme that increases nitric oxide.

And people were randomized for 6 months.

They took studied drug for 6 months.

It was double blinded.

And our primary outcome was 6 month change in the 6-minute walk distance.

So, we randomized 90 people in this Phase 2 clinical trial

47% were women — so, nearly half women

And, we had 48% black.

So, we did have a diverse population.

So, for our primary outcome, six month change in six-minute walk distance, we found that Nicotinamide Riboside alone meaningfully improved 6-minute walk distance by 17.6 m.

In our primary analyses, the NR + Resveratrol (FAQs) did not have a meaningful effect.

But when we looked at the subset of people who adhered to their study drug — that is they had 75% or greater adherence — then, we actually found a 35 meter improvement in the NR alone group, and a 30 meter improvement in the NR plus Resveratrol group compared to placebo.

We also found meaningful improvements in six minutes walk at 3 month followup, 22 and 20 m in the NR alone, and the NR with Resveratrol group.

And we found that both interventions had significant effects on treadmill walking time.

Well, it was surprising that there was such a difference in results by adherence.

So, the 2/3s of people that took 75% or more, the mean improvements were substantially increased while those who didn’t adhere actually declined in all three groups.

And also among those who did adhere, the magnitude of the effect size was quite large — the 35 and 30 meters that I mentioned — that’s similar to what supervised exercise does for patients with peripheral artery disease.

Well, it was a phase 2 trial.

So it’s not definitive — but it’s preliminary evidence of a potential for a very strong signal of benefit for Nicotinamide Riboside on improvement in walking performance in peripheral artery disease.

But Resveratrol did not add to the Nicotinamide Riboside.

So, we would like to design a phase 3 multi-center randomized clinical trial to see whether in a larger sample size these findings hold up”

RELATED:

• Resveratrol + Nicotinamide Riboside (NR)? Another Scientist Says Evidence Doesn’t Support Popular Beliefs about Resveratrol (Link)
• How much NR should you take? When? (Link)
• NEW: Why the new 1000 mg dose? (Link)
• NR 101 (FAQs) (Life Changing Reviews)

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