Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is a non-protein chemical compound that acts as a catalyst for an enzyme’s activity, by increasing the rate of a chemical reaction. It exists in every living cell in one of the two forms: NAD+ and NADH. Both NAD boosters and NADH might prove useful against COVID-19.
NAD+ is an oxidized and reduced form of NAD that proved to work as anti-cancer, anti-viral, or immunosuppressive drugs. Since the coronavirus is a viral disease and the only weapon the human body has against it is the immune system, then it becomes logical to consider the effects a NAD booster would have as a treatment or better said as a palliative.
NAD boosters are considered to be anti-aging drugs, but it seems that they can do much more than that. According to recent reports, Harvard experts consider NAD boosters to be a chance for older people to survive the fight with the coronavirus.
Older people have an impaired immune system. It either doesn’t identify the virus in time, and the virus gets to the lower respiratory tract, or it recognizes it but it doesn’t have the means to fight it. Either impairment can prove to cause severe complications for those infected with COVID-19, and even fatal.
The importance of NAD boosters against COVID-19
The National Health Service reports that 72% of the patients hospitalized with coronavirus are over 60 years old and that they represent 91% of the deaths in the UK. Specialists observed that diabetes and hearth affections make the coronavirus the weakest categories, although the correlation wasn’t yet elucidated.
But these two illnesses are highly present in the old population. Since the young population proved to have higher chances of fighting the coronavirus, it would be natural to think about a strategy that would make the elder’s immune system work as a younger one.
This is where NAD boosters came up as a solution. “It may even be possible to reset the age of cells and tissues so currently high-risk individuals can respond to viral infections as though they were young,” the study says.
NAD boosters contain niacinamide, a form of vitamin B3. Ingesting nicotinamide, it will transform into NAD. The method is called a salvage pathway. “NAD+ is the closest we’ve gotten to a fountain of youth. It’s one of the most important molecules for life to exist, and without it, you’re dead in 30 seconds,” said David Sinclair, an author of the paper, suggesting that NAD might be effective against COVID-19.
