NAD+ Infusion

NAD+ Infusion (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide)

What is a NAD+?

NAD+ stands for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. NAD+ is a natural chemical found in all the cells of your body. The main job of NAD+ is as an electron transporter in the energy generating process in the cells (in the mitochondria). In other words, NAD+ is a key component of the cellular energy generating system. Cells must be able to generate enough energy in order to function correctly and keep you healthy.

When NAD+ undergoes a chemical reaction to generate energy, it accepts electrons and a hydrogen ion (H+) to become NADH. The cell later recreates NAD+ from NADH so it can be used again. Reactions involving transport of electrons between chemicals are called reduction / oxidation or “redox” reactions. NAD+ often referred to as a key redox molecule in the body.

NAD+ also has other non-redox functions. It is involved in DNA repair, telomere maintenance, cell signalling and regulation of cellular heath / aging via the sirtuin family of proteins.

NAD+ is required for about 500 different chemical reactions in the human body. It is estimated that an average person’s body contains about 3 grams of NAD+.

Why is NAD+ Therapy Important?

Since NAD+ has so many important jobs in the body, maintaining the correct levels of NAD+ is critical for good health. There is now extensive research that indicates that deficiency of NAD+ is a factor in many different diseases. Also NAD+ levels decline with age. This is exciting information because it means that correcting low levels of NAD+ may slow or reverse the aging process and prevent problems like metabolic disease, brain degenerative disease, mental illness and cancer.

What are the Benefits of NAD+ Infusion Therapy?

NAD+ can be used to treat various diseases with minimal or no side effects, since it is a natural chemical that is already present in the body. NAD+ infusion is useful because intravenous administration gets around the limitation of poor absorption and breakdown of NAD+ if it were taken by mouth as a capsule or powder. Boosting NAD+ has the following beneficial effects:

• improved brain function in Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, reduction in Parkinson’s tremors
• inhibit glucose use in cancer cells by blocking an enzyme called PDK (pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase)
• improvement in CD4 cell levels in HIV+ patients
• improvement in pumping efficiency of the heart in diabetic cardiac patients
• reduced heart muscle injury during a heart attack
• reduced arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms)
• improved endothelial function (improved function of the inner lining of blood vessels)
• reduction in drug withdrawal signs and symptoms (alcohol, benzodiazepine, methamphetamine, opioid etc.)
• improvement in taste and eye sight
• improvement in average blood glucose (HbA1C) in diabetics
• improvement in lipid levels (LDL, HDL, triglycerides)
• improved immune function and reduced inflammation
• improved sleep
• improved fertility
• kidney protection
• reduction in psychiatric symptoms (depression, anxiety, panic, schizophrenia, bipolar)
• improvement in exercise performance and strength
• improvement in sense of well-being

What Conditions can be Managed by NAD+?

Research has been conducted on NAD+ treatment of various conditions in animals and humans. NAD+ therapy was shown to be useful for treating:

• diabetes
• addiction (any type including drugs, gambling, food, sex)
• obsessive/compulsive behavior
• heart disease
• obesity
• Alzheimer’s dementia
• Parkinson’s disease
• fertility loss due to advancing age
• fatty liver
• depression
• anxiety
• chronic fatigue.

NAD+ also has powerful anti-aging effects, and anti-cancer effects (cancer prevention).

Who Qualifies for NAD+ Therapy?

If you have any of the above conditions you may be an ideal candidate for NAD+ infusion therapy. Also if you have a condition that is not treatable by standard methods offered by your doctor, NAD+ may be worth trying. The reason is that many diseases are caused (at least in part) by mitochondrial dysfunction, and NAD+ corrects mitochondrial dysfunction.

What Does a Course of NAD+ Therapy Look Like?

The treatment protocol depends on the condition being treated or whether NAD+ is being used for prevention. For addiction treatment, research shows the greatest benefit with a daily high dose infusion for 10 – 14 days. For prevention we may recommend an initial weekly low dose infusions followed by monthly maintenance infusions, complemented by oral NAD-boosting natural medication.

What are the Expected Side Effects?

NAD+ infusions are very safe, but some mild side effects are possible that are related to the speed of infusion. Normally NAD+ infusions must be run slowly at a rate of about 100mg of NAD infused per hour (depending on your individual tolerance). Faster infusion can cause a heavy, tired feeling in the arms or legs, a heavy feeling in the chest, shortness of breath, dizziness or nausea. Side effects tend to resolve very quickly once the infusion is slowed down. No serious or long-term side effects have been reported in doses up to 2000mg. Typical doses we use range from 90 – 360mg and the highest dose we use is 1800mg for a single infusion.

Therapy Enhancement

NAD+ infusion is quite useful on its own, but it is possible to achieve further benefit by combining it with a second therapy. For example, we may offer to combine a specific amino acid and vitamin infusion or ozone therapy for even faster results. When combination therapy is administered, there may be a specific sequence required. Certain therapies cannot be mixed and must be administered one after the other. Your Sano Via doctors are familiar with combination therapy and can make a safe and effective treatment plan for you.

What Makes Sano Via Unique

Pure NAD+ solution for infusion has a very short shelf-life of about 1 week and a highly acidic pH (around 2!) that can cause vein irritation. NAD+ therapy at Sano Via is unique because we regularly prepare NAD+ for infusion fresh in-house. That means we always have full potency medication available, even on short notice if patient demand is high. We also check and adjust the pH of the solution so it is just slightly acidic. This prevents vein irritation and increases the stability which maximizes shelf-life to over 2 weeks. We also use strategic blends of high dose B vitamins and activated folic acid (5-methyltetrahydrofolate or MTHF) to boost the mitochondrial enhancing effects of NAD+.