Despite billions of dollars spent on decades of research, there has never been a clinical trial of any drug to reverse and recover from AD.
The study, led by Kalyani Chaubey, from the Pieper Laboratory, was published online Dec. 22 in Cell Reports Medicine.
Without proper NAD+ balance, cells eventually become unable to execute many of the critical processes required for proper functioning and survival.
The researchers used two of these mouse models: One carried multiple human mutations in amyloid processing; the other carried a human mutation in the tau protein.
The results prompt a paradigm shift in how researchers, clinicians and patients can think about treating AD in the future.
“The key takeaway is a message of hope—the effects of Alzheimer's disease may not be inevitably permanent,” Pieper said.
Pieper emphasized that current over-the-counter NAD+-precursors have been shown in animal models to raise cellular NAD+ to dangerously high levels that promote cancer. »