Therapeutic Potential of NAD-Boosting Molecules: The In Vivo Evidence

Abstract

<p id="P1">Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), the cell’s hydrogen carrier for redox enzymes, is well known for its role in redox reactions. More recently, it has emerged as a signaling molecule. By modulating NAD ⁺ sensing enzymes, it controls hundreds of key processes from energy metabolism to cell survival, rising and falling depending on food intake, exercise and the time of day. NAD ⁺ levels steadily decline with age, resulting in altered metabolism and increased disease susceptibility. Restoration of NAD ⁺ levels in old or diseased animals can promote health and extend lifespan, prompting a search for safe and efficacious NAD-boosting molecules. Such molecules hold the promise of increasing the body’s resilience, not just to one disease, but to many, thereby extending healthy human lifespan. </p><p id="P2">Nicotinamide adenine nucleotide (NAD+) has emerged as a key regulator of cellular processes that control the body’s response to stress. Rajman et al. discuss NAD boosters, small molecules that raise NAD+ levels, which are now considered to be highly promising for the treatment of multiple diseases and the potential extension of human lifespan. </p>