Nicotinamide riboside shows no benefit for early Parkinson's in yearlong JAMA trial
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A JAMA-published trial of 410 people with early Parkinson's disease found no clinical benefit from nicotinamide riboside (NR), an NAD-boosting compound that is also sold as a supplement.
A large clinical trial found that nicotinamide riboside (NR) gave no clinical benefit to people with early Parkinson's disease. NR is a compound that increases cellular levels of NAD. The findings are published in JAMA. The source does not name any commercial supplement brand.
The NOPARK trial included 410 people with early Parkinson's disease at 11 Norwegian centres. Participants were randomly assigned to take 500 mg of NR twice daily or a matching placebo for one year. Neither participants nor study teams knew who got which. After 52 weeks, symptom scores (MDS-UPDRS, where a higher score means more pronounced symptoms) had worsened by an average of 2.45 points in the NR group. The placebo group stayed essentially unchanged. The adjusted difference was 2.72 points in favour of placebo. The source calls this difference statistically significant but modest, and below the usual threshold for a clinically important difference.
Brain imaging showed no sign that NR either slowed or accelerated changes in the brain's dopamine system. Adverse events were similar in both groups. NR did increase NAD metabolism, but this did not lead to clinical improvement. Earlier small studies and preclinical studies had suggested possible benefit. The researchers say the results do not support NR as a treatment to slow Parkinson's disease. They add that the findings do not rule out benefits of NAD-boosting treatments in other diseases, which would need their own controlled trials. The team is still analysing the data.
What you can do: The researchers do not recommend that people with Parkinson's disease use NR or other NAD-boosting supplements outside controlled clinical studies. If you feel unwell, contact a doctor or NHS 111.
What you can doAI-generated
- ✓Stop buying nicotinamide riboside supplements if you have early Parkinson's disease. A year-long trial of 410 people found it did not slow symptom progression.
- ✓Ask your neurologist about treatments with proven evidence for slowing Parkinson's instead. NR boosted NAD in the body but failed to improve actual symptoms or brain changes.
- ✓Read the full JAMA study yourself before anyone tries to sell you NR as a Parkinson's treatment. The hype around NAD-boosting compounds doesn't match what this large controlled trial actually showed.
- ✓Avoid spending money on NR supplements marketed for neurological benefit until separate trials prove it works for conditions other than Parkinson's. This trial was rigorous and the results were clear.
Always consult a healthcare professional for personal medical advice.
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