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Chronic nicotinamide mononucleotide supplementation elevates blood nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide levels and alters muscle function in healthy older men

Masaki Igarashi, Yoshiko Nakagawa-Nagahama, Masaomi Miura, Kosuke Kashiwabara, Keisuke Yaku, Mika Sawada, Rie Sekine, Yuichiro Fukamizu, Toshiya Sato, Takanobu Sakurai, Jiro Sato, Kenji Ino, Naoto Kubota, Takashi Nakagawa, Takashi Kadowaki, Toshimasa Yamauchi
npj Aging 2022 8:5

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 35927255
PubMed Central
PMC9158788
DOI
10.1038/s41514-022-00084-z
Funding
Funded by Mitsubishi Corporation Life Sciences Limited, which also supplied the study supplements.
Competing interests
Yuichiro Fukamizu, Toshiya Sato, and Takanobu Sakurai were employees of Mitsubishi Corporation Life Sciences Limited. The remaining authors declared no competing interests.

Study snapshot

DesignRandomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel-group trial.
ModelHealthy older men aged 65 years or older.
Sample42 randomized: 21 NMN and 21 placebo. After the 6-week visit, a supplier error caused 11 participants in each arm to receive the opposite supplement. The Ethics Committee required exclusion of the week-12 data from those 22 participants, leaving 20 participants with valid week-12 data.
InterventionNMN 250 mg/day versus placebo.
Duration12 weeks, with interim assessment at 6 weeks.
EndpointsWhole-blood NAD+ and NAD+ metabolome; Gait speed; Grip strength; Body composition; Safety

What the study showed, in plain terms

Forty-two healthy older men were randomized to 250 mg/day NMN or placebo for 12 weeks. NMN clearly raised whole-blood NAD+ and multiple related metabolites.

Some physical-function measures, including gait speed and left-hand grip, showed nominal improvements, but the authors emphasized the need for confirmation in larger studies. Body composition did not improve.

Key findings

  • Whole-blood NAD+ and related metabolites increased with chronic NMN supplementation.
  • The trial reported nominal improvements in gait speed and left-grip performance.
  • No significant effect on body composition was found.
  • NMN was reported as well tolerated over 12 weeks.

What this study can and cannot tell us

A major protocol deviation occurred after the six-week visit: 11 participants in each randomized arm received the opposite supplement because of a supplier error. The Ethics Committee required exclusion of those 22 participants' week-12 data, leaving only 20 valid week-12 observations. The trial included only older men, and nominal gait/grip findings require replication in a larger independently conducted study.

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Dr. Khaled Mahmoud, MBBChCritical Care Medicine, Longevity Science & Editorial Direction Dr. Amr Yasser, PhDCardiometabolic, Musculoskeletal, Gut & Bioavailability Dr. Abdulla Mostafa, PhDCellular Senescence, Neurological, Mitochondrial & Brain-Ageing Biology