Haukeland University Hospital registered a phase II trial of nicotinamide riboside in early Alzheimer’s disease
Haukeland University Hospital registered a phase II trial of nicotinamide riboside in early Alzheimer’s disease
On August 3, Haukeland University Hospital registered N-AD, a phase II trial of nicotinamide riboside in early Alzheimer’s disease. A total of 270 people will take either the supplement or a placebo for 104 weeks, while clinicians compare changes in memory and the ability to function independently in daily life.
Nicotinamide riboside, or NR, is a form of vitamin B3. Cells convert it into NAD+, a molecule involved in extracting energy from nutrients. NR has long been sold as a supplement intended to raise NAD+ levels. The Bergen trial will test whether it alters the course of early Alzheimer’s disease.
The study will enroll people aged 50–85 years who have recently been diagnosed and whose disease has been confirmed with biomarkers. One group will take 1000 mg of NR twice daily, while the other will receive placebo in identical capsules. The participants, treating staff, and researchers will not know which group each person has been assigned to. Recruitment has not yet begun. The registry lists August 15 as the planned start date.
The primary assessment is the change in CDR-SB at week 104. This scale combines six areas that progressively deteriorate as the disease advances into a single score: memory, orientation, problem-solving ability, activities outside the home, activities at home, and personal care. A higher score indicates greater impairment. The researchers will also assess cognitive test results, independence in daily activities, and two plasma markers of tau protein. Tau forms the neurofibrillary tangles in the brain that are characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease.
NR has already been studied in short trials involving people. In a 12-week pilot trial published in 2026 that included 42 people with amnestic mild cognitive impairment, the supplement doubled blood NAD+ levels, but cognitive test results did not differ between the groups. N-AD will shift the test from blood NAD+ levels to changes in memory and independent functioning over two years.
The registry lists April 2030 as the planned end of follow-up. At that point, comparing CDR-SB scores between the groups will show whether their conditions changed differently over 104 weeks.