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A phase-II randomized controlled pilot study of nicotinamide riboside supplementation in older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment
Christopher R Martens, Kevin P Decker, Theodore M DeConne, Faria Sanjana, Fiona Horvat, Nicholas A Rizzi, Catherine Awad, Elizabeth Habash et al.. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 2026-07
Topic: Drug trials: efficacy and safety
42 participants completed the study (NR = 22, placebo = 20). Adherence was similar between groups with no serious adverse effects. Blood NAD+ increased twofold in the NR group. There were no improvements in cognitive function (primary outcome), total CBF, or blood pressure (secondary outcomes). Exploratory analyses revealed potential increases in regional CBF, particularly in the hippocampus. NR effectively raises NAD+ in people with MCI but does not improve cognitive function, total CBF, or blood pressure over 12 weeks. Future studies should investigate regional effects on CBF over longer treatment durations.
Key findings
- 42 participants completed the study (NR = 22, placebo = 20).
- Adherence was similar between groups with no serious adverse effects.
- Blood NAD+ increased twofold in the NR group.
- There were no improvements in cognitive function (primary outcome), total CBF, or blood pressure (secondary outcomes).
- Exploratory analyses revealed potential increases in regional CBF, particularly in the hippocampus.
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Study details
- Participants42
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 84/100
Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a randomised controlled trial. Scored zero for effect reported because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record, multi-centre collaboration and free to read, so those were left out: it earned 47 of the 56 points we could judge it on, which is 84 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 11 / 12 | A randomised controlled trial (from PubMed type “Randomized Controlled Trial”) |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 5 / 5 | 2026 — within 1 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 42 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 1 / 2 | Randomised (as stated in the record) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 42478598) |
| Free to read | — / 2 | Access not recorded — left out of this score |
| Points | 47 / 56 | Scored on 10 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 47 of the 56 points we could judge it on is 84 out of 100. |
| Total | 84 / 100 | — |
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
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APA 7th
Martens, C. R., Decker, K. P., DeConne, T. M., Sanjana, F., Horvat, F., Rizzi, N. A., et al. (2026). A phase-II randomized controlled pilot study of nicotinamide riboside supplementation in older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.71605
Vancouver
Martens CR, Decker KP, DeConne TM, Sanjana F, Horvat F, Rizzi NA, et al. A phase-II randomized controlled pilot study of nicotinamide riboside supplementation in older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. 2026. doi:10.1002/alz.71605. PMID: 42478598.
BibTeX
@article{martens2026-42478598,
author = {Martens, Christopher R and Decker, Kevin P and DeConne, Theodore M and Sanjana, Faria and Horvat, Fiona and Rizzi, Nicholas A and Awad, Catherine and Habash, Elizabeth and others},
title = {{A phase-II randomized controlled pilot study of nicotinamide riboside supplementation in older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment}},
journal = {Alzheimer's \& dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.1002/alz.71605},
pmid = {42478598},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.71605}
}