B3 Nicotinamide Prevents Alzheimer In Transgenic Mice – Will It Do The Same In Humans?? We Shall See
Keep your eyes on vitamin B3 news. Vitamin B3 also known as Nicotinamide (AKA Niacinamide) have been found to prevent Alzheimer’s pathology and improve memory in transgenic mice. Studies are on the way to find if the same effect is found in humans.
Nicotinamide decrease levels of phosphorylated tau which is one of the key neuropathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease. Tau is involved in the formation of mircotubules which can be thought of as the train tracks (or key transportation system) along the length of the cell. Without it, both intracellular and extracellular communication can’t occur. It also increases the stability of this transportation system via other mechanisms, and works to increase p25, a protein which has been linked to improved learning and memory.
Phase 2 trials at UC Irvine have started, this phase is looking for patients who are in the early stages of alzheimer’s. Keep your eyes on phase 2 and 3 of these clinical trials
Vitamin B3 is easily found in meat, fish, beans, potatoes and cereals, comparable [to the mice] doses for humans are far higher than is found in one’s diet.
Investigators at UC Irvine are starting a phase 2 trial in humans by giving their subjects 1,500 mg twice a day. That is 3000 mg a day. Common multivitamins contain about 10mg only. The recommended daily dose is 16mg for men and 14mg for women.
Taking 1000mg a day or more could induce liver toxicity and other side effects, thus caution and more information on safety is needed.
Nicotinamide belongs to a class of compounds called HDAC inhibitors, which have been shown to protect the central nervous system in rodent models of Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Clinical trials are underway to learn whether HDAC inhibitors help ALS and Huntington’s patients.
An observational prospective study conducted by Martha. C. Morris at Rush University showed that in their Chicago population of 3718 subjects that those who consumed more niacin (a precursor to nicotinamide) over a 5.5 yr period had substantially less cognitive decline. This same study showed in a smaller subset that those who consumed more niacin also had a 70% lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Stay Informed
There seems to be enough promising results so far to warrant keeping a close watch on B3 research. Many people, including myself, would like to see their memory improved and would like to decrease their chances of getting Alzheimer’s.
What Is The Truth – Will It Be Known?
Due to the simplicity of this solution (i.e. over the counter vitamin that is not expensive or patentable) I hope that the research is not influenced in any way by large corporations that would rather patent a drug to make a profit.
The Best Things Are Simple (or Natural)
It is my observation and belief that MOST good and beneficial things in life are simple and found in nature. Most of the time, naturally occurring things and simplicity do miracles. This observations is true in many fields, from medicine, to wellness, to physics and math, computer science, and chemistry, etc… The best equations and solutions out there are simple, and esthetically appealing (pretty, just as is Nature).
For more information & resources check out:
A Previous article on wholenessblog
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=42467
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/128297.php
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081104180926.htm
http://www.alzforum.org/new/detail.asp?id=1962
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96747179
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotinamide
Green KN, Steffan JS, Martinez-Coria H, SunX, Schreiber SS, Thompson LM, LaFerla FM. Nicotinamide Restores Cognition in Alzheimer’s Disease Transgenic Mice Via a Mechanism Involving Sirtuin Inhibition and Selective Reduction of Thr231-Phosphotau. Journal of Neuroscience. 2008 Nov 28(45):11500-11510.
Morris MC, Evans DA, Bienias JL, Scherr PA, Tangney CC, Hebert LE, Bennett DA, Wilson RS, Aggarwal N. Dietary niacin and the risk of incident Alzheimer’s disease and of cognitive decline. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2004 Aug;75(8):1093-9.
Quoting from The Journal of Neuroscience, November 5, 2008, 28: http://www.jneurosci.org/cgi/content/abstract/28/45/11500
Nicotinamide Restores Cognition in Alzheimer’s Disease Transgenic Mice via a Mechanism Involving Sirtuin Inhibition and Selective Reduction of Thr231-Phosphotau
Kim N. Green,1 Joan S. Steffan,2 Hilda Martinez-Coria,1 Xuemin Sun,3 Steven S. Schreiber,3,5 Leslie Michels Thompson,1,2,4 and Frank M. LaFerla1
Departments of 1Neurobiology and Behavior, 2Psychiatry and Human Behavior, 3Neurology, 4Biological Chemistry, and 5Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697-4545
Correspondence should be addressed to Frank M. LaFerla, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, 1109 Gillespie Neuroscience Building, Irvine, CA 92697-4545. Email: laferla@uci.edu
Memory loss is the signature feature of Alzheimer’s disease, and therapies that prevent or delay its onset are urgently needed. Effective preventive strategies likely offer the greatest and most widespread benefits. Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors increase histone acetylation and enhance memory and synaptic plasticity. We evaluated the efficacy of nicotinamide, a competitive inhibitor of the sirtuins or class III NAD+-dependent HDACs in 3xTg-AD mice, and found that it restored cognitive deficits associated with pathology. Nicotinamide selectively reduces a specific phospho-species of tau (Thr231) that is associated with microtubule depolymerization, in a manner similar to inhibition of SirT1. Nicotinamide also dramatically increased acetylated
-tubulin, a primary substrate of SirT2, and MAP2c, both of which are linked to increased microtubule stability. Reduced phosphoThr231-tau was related to a reduction of monoubiquitin-conjugated tau, suggesting that this posttranslationally modified form of tau may be rapidly degraded. Overexpression of a Thr231-phospho-mimic tau in vitro increased clearance and decreased accumulation of tau compared with wild-type tau. These preclinical findings suggest that oral nicotinamide may represent a safe treatment for AD and other tauopathies, and that phosphorylation of tau at Thr231 may regulate tau stability.
Key words: amyloid; transgenic; Alzheimer’s disease; vitamin; memory; cognition
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More info on B3 from: http://www.alternative-medicine-health.info/2007/03/vitamin-b-3-niacin.html
1) As a rule, the more ill you are, the more niacin you can hold without flushing. In other words, if you need it, you physiologically soak up a lot of niacin. Where does it all go? Well, a good bit of it goes into making nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, or NAD. NAD is just about the most important coenzyme in your body. It is made from niacin, as its name implies.
2) Niacin is also works in your body as an antihistamine. Many persons showing psychotic behavior suffer from cerebral allergies. They need more niacin in order to cope with eating inappropriate foods. They also need to stop eating those inappropriate foods, chief among which are the ones they may crave the most: junk food and sugar.
3) There is a chemical found in quantity in the bodies of schizophrenic persons. It is an indole called adrenochrome. Adrenochrome (which is oxidized adrenalin) has an almost LSD-like effect on the body. That might well explain their behavior. Niacin serves to reduce the body’s production of this toxic material.