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Celebrities and biohackers are promoting a compound called NAD+ for longevity, energy and workout recovery. They sometimes call it a “fountain of youth.” Wellness clinics offer pricey infusions — they cost around $200-$1000 a session. People can buy supplements and injections, too. But research supporting the benefits of NAD+ is still in early stages and evidence behind products on the market is scant, as NPR’s Will Stone reports.
NAD+, or nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, is a molecule that's critical for energy production and cellular health. There’s evidence that your body’s natural NAD+ levels decline with age and some chronic diseases. NAD+ works on a cellular level to help mitochondria produce energy and repair damaged DNA.
However, most of the research on supplementation with the compound has been done on animals. "In rodents and mice…NAD+ is miraculous," says Dr. Samuel Klein, a nutrition scientist at Washington University in St. Louis. Critters given NAD+ in the lab have shown increased strength and exercise performance, decreased inflammation and more.
Researchers have conducted some small studies on humans, mostly not using NAD+ itself, but instead using supplements that contain precursor molecules that help the body make NAD+. These studies have yielded some promising data for specific-populations — including postmenopausal women with prediabetes and people newly-diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. But the science hasn’t turned up much support for general wellness claims for NAD+.
So for now, the NAD+ products on the market aren't proven to do the average person much good. That said, a lot of research is going on so there may be more to say about this in the future.
If you want to try one of the precursor supplements, the health risks appear to be low, says Dr. Shalender Bhasin, who studies aging and metabolism at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Learn more about the evolving science around NAD+.
For more evidence-based exploration of buzzy wellness trends, check out NPR’s ongoing series ‘Healthy or hype?’
And: In 'Good Energy,' a doctor lays out how to measure and boost your metabolic health |
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In just the past two decades, science has made some previously lethal cancers treatable, including skin, breast and even lung cancers. But pancreatic cancer has been stubbornly hard to beat until very recently. Only 13% of patients live for five years or longer after they’re diagnosed. New genetically targeted treatments are showing promise, as NPR’s Yuki Nogochi reports.
Vicky Stinton of Flagstaff, Ariz. developed jaundice around age 63, and it took six months for doctors to identify the cause — Stage 3 pancreatic cancer. She was told she had just months to live. But two years later, Stinson’s defying the odds.
Why pancreatic cancer is so hard to treat
There are a few factors that make pancreatic cancer especially challenging for doctors, says Rajesh Ramanathan, a surgical oncologist at Banner MD Anderson Center in Phoenix. For one, the symptoms are usually vague: like abdominal pain, digestive problems and new diabetes.
The pancreas’ location in the body is another challenge. It sits deep in the abdomen behind the liver and stomach, making it hard to feel, see, scan, or operate on, Ramanathan says. The organ is situated close to central veins and arteries, making it easy for cancer cells to disperse into the blood. At the same time, the cancer forms a barrier that makes it difficult to deliver chemotherapy.
Why the new drugs work better than chemotherapy
Vicky Stinton participated in a clinical trial for a drug called daraxonrasib, which is part of a new class of genetically engineered medicines called RAS inhibitors. Unlike chemotherapy, which kills both cancerous and healthy cells, RAS inhibitors target cells with certain cancerous mutations. The results of the trial showed that patients given daraxonrasib lived 3 to 4 times longer than patients treated with chemotherapy – 8 to 9 months without disease progression on average. Stinton said the medication gave her “a full year of normalcy.” She even hiked Italy’s Dolomite Mountains.
While daraxonrasib has not yet completed the approval process, the FDA has allowed its maker to expand access to patients anyway.
How other new therapies could add months or years to patients’ lives
A newly-approved device called Optune Pax kills replicating cancer cells by sending high-frequency electrical signals via electrodes on the skin. It also appears to activate the patient’s immune response. In clinical trials, patients experienced less pain and lived 2 to 3 months longer.
Another exciting treatment comes from the field of precision medicine. Researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering developed mRNA vaccines designed individually for each of 16 patients based on the genetic profile of their cancers. Some lived for an additional 6 years.
Learn more.
Plus: Weight-loss drugs like Wegovy may help stave off some cancers |
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Matteo Farinella/Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute |
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The MAHA movement is coming to school cafeterias. Here's what that means for kids
A brain-controlled system may help listeners with hearing loss cut through the noise
On the brink of death, a woman is saved by a stranger in an ER waiting room
Listen: Feeling stuck? Try radical acceptance. |
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We hope you enjoyed these stories. Find more of NPR's health journalism online.
All the best,
Andrea Muraskin and your NPR Health editors |
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