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Parkinson’s: Vitamin B3 Could Stop the Death of Brain Cells

How might the intake of vitamin B3 impact the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease?

The researchers’ work has now been published in the journal Cell Reports. It reports how a form of vitamin B-3 called nicotinamide riboside has helped preserve nerve cells by boosting their mitochondria, or energy production centers.

Dr. Michela Deleidi, senior author of the study, who conducts brain research projects at the University of Tübingen and the Helmholtz Association – both in Germany, explains:

“This substance stimulates the defective energy metabolism in the affected nerve cells and protects them from death.”

Parkinson’s Disease and Mitochondria

Parkinson’s disease is a condition that worsens over time and manifests following the death of neurons or nerve cells in a part of the brain responsible for movement.

The cells produce a chemical called dopamine which is important for movement control. As the disease progresses, walking, coordinating, and balancing become increasingly difficult.

Other symptoms such as sleep disorders, memory problems, fatigue, and depression may also occur.

The most common opinion among scientists is that the disease stems from both genetic and environmental factors. Each of our cells contains hundreds of tiny compartments called mitochondria that, among other things, convert food into energy for the cell.

Since they are energy-hungry compared to other cells, nerve cells are “particularly dependent on mitochondria”.

Problems with mitochondrial function are a common feature of diseases that are accompanied by the death of brain tissue, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Huntington’s disease.

In the case of Parkinson’s, studies have shown that the dying dopamine cells have damaged mitochondria.

Cause or Side Effect of the Disease?

Dr. Deleidi and her colleagues wondered whether the faulty mitochondria are the cause of the disease or if they are “just a side effect.”

Initially, they took skin cells from individuals with Parkinson’s disease that had degenerations of the GBA gene, known to increase the risk of disease.

They caused the skin cells to regress into immature stem cells, which were then induced to become nerve cells. These nerve cells show a similar mitochondrial dysfunction as that found in brain cells in Parkinson’s disease.

To see if it is possible to trigger the growth of new mitochondria in the cells, the team increased levels of the coenzyme nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD).

The team did this by “feeding” the cells with a form of vitamin B-3 called nicotinamide riboside, which is a precursor of the coenzyme.

Vitamin B-3 Led to Fewer Dead Nerve Cells

So far, the experiments had only been done regarding effects on cells grown in the laboratory. So, the next stage was to test them in a living organism.

The scientists chose flies with damaged GBA genes because they also develop symptoms of Parkinson’s disease as they age and their dopamine cells decrease.

The researchers used two groups of flies with damaged GBA. They added vitamin B-3 to the food for one group, but not the other.

The team observed that the flies that had consumed the vitamin B3 along with their food had many fewer dead nerve cells and had better preservation of mobility, compared to those that had not taken the vitamin.

Dr. Deleidi suggests that the results show that “the loss of mitochondria actually plays a significant role” in the development of Parkinson’s disease.

Now the doctor along with colleagues will test the effects of the vitamin on patients with Parkinson’s disease. Other studies have already shown that the vitamin does not produce side effects in healthy individuals.

“The management of nicotinamide riboside could be a new starting point for the treatment of Parkinson’s.”
Dr. Michela Deleidi

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