In a study published on October 10 in Nature Communications, Dr. Charles Brenner, Roy J. Carver Chair of Biochemistry, Professor of Internal Medicine and Co-founding Director of the Obesity Research and Education Initiative at the University of Iowa, shows nicotinamide riboside (NR) increases levels of a cell metabolite that is critical for cellular energy production and protection against stress and DNA damage in humans. This was the first controlled clinical trial of the effects of NR in humans. "This trial shows that oral NR safely boosts human NAD⁺ metabolism," Brenner says. "We are excited because everything we are learning from animal systems indicates that the effectiveness of NR depends on preserving and/or boosting NAD⁺ and related compounds in the face of metabolic stresses. Because the levels of supplementation in mice that produce beneficial effects are achievable in people, it appears that health benefits of NR will be translatable to humans safely." This study was also featured on IowaNow.