A randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial of nicotinamide riboside in obese men
Dollerup OL, Christensen B, Svart M, et al.
Key finding
12 weeks of 2 g/day NR in obese but otherwise healthy men did not improve insulin sensitivity, ectopic lipid, or body composition vs. placebo. Source: Dollerup OL, Christensen B, Svart M, et al. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2018.
Summary
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of NR in 40 sedentary obese but otherwise healthy men (BMI 30-40). Participants received 1 g NR twice daily (2 g/day total) or placebo for 12 weeks. Primary endpoint was insulin sensitivity measured by hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp. Secondary endpoints included body composition (DXA), hepatic and intramyocellular lipid content (MRS), and muscle mitochondrial function (ex vivo respirometry). Contrary to preclinical expectations based on rodent high-fat-diet studies, NR at this dose produced no statistically significant improvement in insulin sensitivity, ectopic lipid, body composition, or resting energy expenditure vs. placebo. Safety was excellent with no serious adverse events. The trial is an important counterpoint to optimistic rodent extrapolations: even at doubled doses for three times the duration of early NR safety studies, metabolic endpoints in otherwise-healthy obese men did not improve. The study highlighted the rodent-to-human translation gap and sharpened focus on populations with greater baseline NAD+ deficit as more likely responders.
For background on the compound studied here, see our NR precursor reference.
Frequently asked questions
- What did Dollerup et al. (2018) find about NR?
- 12 weeks of 2 g/day NR in obese but otherwise healthy men did not improve insulin sensitivity, ectopic lipid, or body composition vs. placebo. Source: Dollerup OL, Christensen B, Svart M, et al. "A randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial of nicotinamide riboside in obese men." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2018.
- What kind of study is Dollerup 2018?
- It is a clinical trial on NR published in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2018. Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of NR in 40 sedentary obese but otherwise healthy men (BMI 30-40). Participants received 1 g NR twice daily (2 g/day total) or placebo for 12 weeks. Primary endpoint was insulin sensitivity measured by hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp. Secondary endpoints included body composition (DXA), hepatic and intramyocellular lipid content (MRS), and muscle mitochondrial function (ex vivo respirometry). Contrary to preclinical expectations based on rodent high-fat-diet studies, NR at this dose produced no statistically significant improvement in insulin sensitivity, ectopic lipid, body composition, or resting energy expenditure vs. placebo. Safety was excellent with no serious adverse events. The trial is an important counterpoint to optimistic rodent extrapolations: even at doubled doses for three times the duration of early NR safety studies, metabolic endpoints in otherwise-healthy obese men did not improve. The study highlighted the rodent-to-human translation gap and sharpened focus on populations with greater baseline NAD+ deficit as more likely responders.
- Where can I read the full Dollerup 2018 paper?
- The primary source is available on PubMed (PMID 29992272) and via DOI 10.1093/ajcn/nqy132.
Access the full paper
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