Treating Dementia with Vitamin B3 and NADH

Dementia affects approximately 5 million people in the United States, and about 475,000 elderly Canadians. Dementia is a debilitating and often progressive illness. The most common type of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease, followed by vascular types. There is a need to investigate novel treatments because the current crop of medications have limited value. Niacin might be a worthwhile treatment to consider. Research has shown that the risks of incident AD increase when patients have insufficient intakes of niacin from diet or medical conditions that precipitate niacin deficiency. Clinical reports have documented therapeutic benefits when patients receive optimum daily doses of niacin. Preliminary trials evaluating the reduced form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) found it a safe and effective treatment for AD. At present, research evaluating the therapeutic applications of niacin and/or NADH for dementia is at a standstill. However, niacinamide is being evaluated in a clinical trial to determine if it is safe and beneficial for patients with AD. Hopefully, the forthcoming results will encourage researchers and clinicians to study niacinamide further, and revisit the therapeutic potential of vitamin B3 as a safe and an effective treatment for dementia. Jonathan E. Prousky, ND, MSc1,2 1 Chief Naturopathic Medical Officer, Professor, Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, 1255 Sheppard Avenue East, Toronto, Ontario, M2K 1E2, Tel: 416-498-1255 ext. 235, email: [email protected] 2 Editor, Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine, email: [email protected]