Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, or N.A.D.+, is a molecule found in all cells that’s essential for repairing damage, generating energy and encouraging healing. N.A.D.+ levels decrease with age, and some scientists think that increasing those levels through infusions or supplements could potentially slow the aging process. But they warn that the treatments are unregulated and largely unproven.
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“The literature is very scarce” on health span and life span, [said] Jonas Thue Treebak, an associate professor at the University of Copenhagen’s Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research. “The science is almost nonexistent.”
That hasn’t stopped people — including longevity expert-influencers like David Sinclair and celebrities like Joe Rogan — from trying the treatments.
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Longevity clinics offer weekly or biweekly IV infusions for hundreds of dollars a session, and retailers sell pills, to be taken daily or weekly, starting at about $20 a month. Some use N.A.D.+ itself, while others use precursors or other versions of the molecule.
Because these treatments are marketed as wellness products or dietary supplements, they don’t have to be reviewed or approved by the Food and Drug Administration before they are sold to consumers.
