The role of Nicotinamide Riboside in mitochondrial biogenesis
Research type
Research Study
Full title
To study the role of nicotinamide riboside in inducing mitochondrial biogenesis
IRAS ID
220317
Contact name
Patrick Chinnery
Contact email
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
609/M/C/1804, Cambridge University Insurance reference number
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 30 days
Research summary
Mitochondrial disorders are genetically determined metabolic diseases arising due to biochemical deficiency of the respiratory chain and affect 1 in 5000 of the UK population. The symptoms, signs and severity of mitochondrial disorders vary significantly, even within families, and range from devastating, fatal, infant-onset multi-system disorders to late onset, isolated symptoms, such as sensori-neural hearing loss, ophthalmoplegia or diabetes.
Mitochondria are responsible for producing energy within the cell, in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial ATP production is tightly regulated depending on how much energy the cell needs, and this can be severely impaired in patients with rare mitochondrial diseases. For these patients, it has been proposed that expanding the mitochondrial population (biogenesis) might be an effective treatment.
Nicotinamide riboside (NR) is a precursor for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), a coenzyme found in human cells. NR boosts the mitochondrial biogenesis pathway, leading to increased expression of genes involved in energy production. This study will use NR to determine if there is a link between mitochondrial biogenesis and physiological function in humans with mitochondrial disease.
The study will consist of two parts. The first step will involve measuring the amount of Nicotinamide Riboside in the bloodstream of patients following administration of a standard oral dose. It involves one overnight stay. The second step will involve a series of standard physiological and biochemical tests both before and after taking a standard course of the supplement (twice daily for 4 weeks) to see if any of these parameters have changed in response to the supplement. This requires 5 separate visits from each participant.REC name
East of England - Cambridge South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/EE/0120
Date of REC Opinion
19 May 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion