Thread by @humanOS_me

THREAD on ' #NAD+ to assess health in aging humans'
Authored by Georges Janssens of Amsterdam University Medical Center, and colleagues. (1/12)

Discovered over 100 years ago as the electron carrier for redox enzymes, and later revealed as a signaling hub, NAD+ has received a surge of attention in the last decades in the aging research field . (2/12)

Over 500 enzymatic reactions use NAD+ to sustain life and cellular homeostasis. (3/12)

NAD+ precursors in mice improves many pathways that derail during aging (Ex. gluconeogenesis, insulin secretion, immune functioning in lymphoid tissues, cardioprotection in heart, sensory + motor function in brain, + many more & lifespan extension. (4/12)

We performed an unbiased metabolomics study on skeletal muscle biopsies from young and older adults. Found muscle NAD+ levels lower in older humans vs young (matched for similar activity levels). (5/12)

NAD+ inherently declines with age in a major tissue such as skeletal muscle and that this is linked to (muscle) health. (6/12)

Physically impaired older adults had even lower levels of NAD+ vs older adults with normal physical fitness. (7/12)

Our study demonstrated that a lifestyle including sufficient aerobic exercise training was associated with NAD+ levels similar to those found in the young. (8/12)

In line w/ study demonstrating that 12 wks of aerobic + resistance exercise in older adults could ↑ the rate limiting enzyme of the NAD+ salvage pathway (i.e., NAMPT) (9/12)

Physical activity and NAD+ levels were so strikingly linked in our own study that a direct correlation was observed between an individual’s average daily step count and their muscle NAD+ content. (10/12)

It supports the notion that exercise is one of the most powerful healthy aging interventions available to date (!) (11/12)

Pairing exercise with NAD+ precursor supplementation may hold additive beneficial effects that deserve merit to be further explored (key question).
(12/12)