If it were possible to live a much longer life, would you take the opportunity? Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine are working on a way to do this. NAD+ availability decreases as a person ages or when they get certain diseases. Nicotinamide mononucleotide or NMN is a NAD+ intermediate that can enhance NAD+ biosynthesis in mice. When mice were administered NMN over a 12 month period, NAD+ was quickly synthesized which reduces age-associated physiological decline. The age-associated gene expression changes in certain organs was also prevented. Instead of the mice just keeping what appears to be a steady age, the mice were actually doing the opposite of aging. This research would have to be tested much further until it was applied to humans but it showed no toxicity in the mice tested. This could be a really good thing for people with life threatening disease but can also be abused.
To read more: http://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/pdf/S1550-4131(16)30495-8.pdf
I wonder if this would be beneficial to cryo or neuropreserved people who have died from heart failure but they're not brain dead yet. These people pay big bucks to suspend their death while waiting for a cure for aging or whatever disease they died from.
ReplyDeleteWhy is NAD+ important? What is the harm in its production declining with age?
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