What is NAD+?
NAD stands for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. It is a coenzyme found in all living cells and has even been called an anti-aging molecule because of the many important roles it plays in promoting health and prolonging lifespan.
This powerful molecule has a lot of potential for new therapeutic opportunities. Studies have shown that it can help battle many effects of aging and chronic conditions on the human body and brain.
Read on to learn more about what exactly the coenzyme is responsible for in your body and how IV NAD+ supplementation can improve your overall health.
What Is NAD+, What It Does & How It Benefits The Body?
Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide has two forms—one active and one inactive. In its active form, it is known as NAD+, and in its inactive form, it is known as NADH.
Scientists first discovered NAD+ and started studying its benefits in the early 1900s, but only in recent years are we beginning to understand its full potential.
Because of the role, it plays in so many different biological processes, scientists and doctors are now looking at different ways it can be used to maintain healthy organs and neurological systems in human patients.
NAD+ is what’s called a “helper molecule” because it binds to other enzymes in the body to activate them and generate molecular reactions. For example, proteins called “sirtuins,” which are responsible for carrying out many biological processes within the human body, require the coenzyme to function properly.
Biological Processes Aided By NAD+
- Repairing and protecting DNA
- Gene expression
- Extracting cellular energy from nutrition
- Maintaining mitochondrial function
- Chromosomal integrity preservation
- Calcium signaling
- Epigenetic and posttranslational modifications
In layman’s terms, we need NAD+ to live. However, as we get older, our bodies generate less and less of the coenzyme. This is one reason why we begin to feel the effects of aging and become more prone to age-related illnesses as the years pass by.
One of the ways you can supplement NAD+ in your body is through IV therapy. This is a holistic, all-natural way to help your body fight against aging and illness to feel healthier and more youthful.
What Is NAD+ IV Therapy?
IV therapy and IV nutrition can refer to a variety of options during which your body receives intravenous infusions of different vitamins and supplements. These infusions can promote certain aspects of your health or increase your overall feeling of wellness.
Infusing your body with NAD+ via an IV drip is the only way to ensure that you get 100% bioavailability from the molecule. This means that your body will absorb the highest possible supplemental coenzymes and convert them into molecular energy.
Oral supplements of NAD do exist, but it is difficult for your body to absorb NAD+ this way and thus hard to guarantee results. Currently, IV therapy is the safest and most efficient way of supplementing the coenzyme in your body.
NAD+ IV Therapy Benefits:
- Slows cognitive decline
- Promotes healthy brain function
- Fights chronic fatigue
- Increases energy
- Boosts metabolism
- Regenerates cells
- Slows aging
- Reduces internal inflammation
Benefits of NAD+ Infusion Therapy For Your Brain
People often describe feeling like a mental fog has been lifted after undergoing NAD+ therapy. This overall improvement in mental sharpness helps guests feel better day today and contributes to their overall feelings of wellness. Furthermore, one of the most noticeable side effects of getting old is a decline in cognitive function. Forgetting things, lack of concentration, and general mental fogginess are some of the more specific outcomes.
A simple NAD+ IV infusion can help activate your brain’s neuron function by helping cells regenerate and protect them against damage. This results in increased mental cognition, including better mental clarity, higher concentration, and enhanced memory function.
This overall boost in brain function can also help guests overcome other types of mental struggles. IV therapy can help you battle against common conditions like depression, anxiety, and mood disorders.
How NAD+ Infusion Therapy Boosts Your Energy Levels and Metabolism
Whether you’re fighting chronic fatigue due to illness or just feeling the effects of getting older, NAD+ can make you feel more energetic and put a spring back in your step again. A coenzyme infusion administered intravenously helps provide energy to your body’s cells on a molecular level.
Besides improving your overall energy, NAD+ also contributes to a healthy metabolism. A smoothly-functioning metabolism is an important part of dealing with weight management and blood sugar issues.
Other Physical Benefits of NAD IV Infusions
Since it is one of your body’s natural coenzymes that promotes cell regeneration, supplementing NAD+ levels through an IV drip can reduce inflammation and help your body recover faster from an injury. The coenzyme also assists in the activation of poly ADP-ribose polymerases (PARPS) to repair damaged DNA inside your body.
Who Is a Good Candidate for NAD+ IV Therapy?
Anyone who suffers from reduced energy levels feels sluggish and fatigued, or feels like their mind is continuously foggy can be a great candidate for this type of IV treatment. Replenishing your body’s NAD+ levels can drastically reduce these types of feelings and provide additional benefits.
People who are struggling with the side effects of aging or who suffer from certain age-related illnesses or chronic conditions are also excellent candidates, however, these infusions can also be beneficial for healthy individuals.
For example, it’s often recommended for athletes who want to enhance their performance and endurance and speed up their recovery times after intense exercise or an injury.
NAD+ IV Infusion Therapy may be good for people with:
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Parkinson’s disease
- Heart disease
- Diabetes
- Mitochondrial dysfunction
- Multiple sclerosis
- Fibromyalgia
- Anxiety/depression
- Chronic fatigue
- Memory/concentration issues
You don’t have to wait until you start experiencing age-related issues or illnesses to use NAD+ therapy to your advantage. IV supplementation may help delay the aging process and lower the risk of certain medical conditions in healthy individuals.
Additionally, IV nutrition can be beneficial for athletes who want to give their body an extra NAD+ boost. This supplementation can improve your endurance, performance, and recovery.
Finally, there is some evidence to show that NAD+ may be beneficial for individuals battling substance addictions. For example, it can help repair brain cells that have been damaged by substance abuse and regenerate opiate receptors to reduce cravings and the side effects of withdrawals. More on that in the next section..
NAD+ Therapy and Addiction:
Can It Be Used for Addictions?
Though it’s still a relatively new service, there is promising evidence that NAD+ IV drip and infusions can be used as a form of addiction therapy. It’s important to note that the coenzyme itself is not a fix for addiction, but it can help heal your brain by replenishing cells that have been ravaged by substance abuse.
Studies have shown that NAD+ can aid in the regeneration of opiate receptors, reducing cravings and softening the effects of withdrawals. This can lead to reduced substance dependence and faster addiction recovery. In addition, we have seen extraordinary outcomes in Indonesia with methamphetamine, benzodiazepines, and alcohol recovery.
Guests who are committed to long-term recovery from addiction may find that NAD+ assists their pre-addiction brain chemistry. A healthy, properly functioning brain is one of the most important factors on the road to recovery.
Are You Ready to Jumpstart Your Body?
DripDok can help with our NAD+ IV therapy sessions and so much more.
Whether you’re interested in anti-aging remedies, battling a chronic condition, or just want to improve your body’s performance and your overall feeling of wellness, we can help. Our NAD+ infusions are 100% safe, natural, and administered by certified technicians.
In addition, we offer advanced peptide, NDMA, and nootropic therapies combined with functional and integrative approaches to renew your brain, body, metabolism, and more.
Sessions can last anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours depending on your current condition and it’s proven that you receiving multiple sessions over several consecutive days gives the absolute best results. However, the exact duration varies depending on you and your unique goals.
- Healthy individuals wanting peak performance can expect total treatment times of 30 min to 1 hour for first treatment
- Individuals suffering from chronic pain, inflammation, brain trauma or recent trauma can expect 1 – 2 hours first treatment
- Detox and substance abuse patients – depending on substance, dosages and frequency can expect 4-6 hours first treatment as it is done via IV drip rather than IV push.
What you may experience after our NAD+ IV treatments:
- Reduced fatigue/higher energy levels
- Sharper memory/overall mind function
- Pain/inflammation relief
- Better metabolism
- Improved moods
- Less anxiety/depression
- Faster recovery from injury/exercise
- Higher endurance/better physical performance
- Feeling of youthfulness
What adverse effect you may feel after your first treatment
NAD+ injection appears to be safe and well-tolerated.10 Adverse reactions and side effects of NAD+ injection may include but are not limited to headache, shortness of breath, constipation,18 increased plasma bilirubin, and decreased levels of gamma-glutamyl transferase, lactate dehydrogenase, and aspartate aminotransferase.10
Case reports of the use of NAD+ for treatment of drug addiction provided preliminary details on adverse reactions and safety.1819 A 1961 report described “no distress” in patients with addiction who received NAD+ using a slow IV drip rate (no more than 35 drops per minute); with a faster drip rate, patients reported headache and shortness of breath.18 In this report, the dosage was 500 – 1000 mg daily for 4 days followed by injections twice weekly for one month and a maintenance dose of one injection twice monthly. In one of the two cases, the patient reported constipation while on treatment.18
In a 2019 study, the safety of IV infusion of NAD+ was assessed in a cohort of healthy male participants (n=11; NAD+ n = 8 and Control n = 3) aged 30-55 years using liver function tests (serum, total bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyl transferase, lactate dehydrogenase, and aspartate aminotransferase) and clinical observation of any adverse events.10 No adverse events were observed during the 6 hours infusion in either the NAD+ or placebo (saline) cohorts.10 In the NAD+ group, significant decreases in liver function enzymes (gamma-glutamyl transferase, lactate dehydrogenase, and aspartate aminotransferase) and a significant increase in plasma bilirubin were observed at 8 hours after initiation of the NAD+ infusion.10 However, the changes were not considered clinically significant. The authors acknowledge the small sample sizes, especially for the control group; therefore, these results should be interpreted with caution.10
It’s important to note that IV therapy is the only recommended method of replenishing your body’s NAD+ levels. Store-bought supplements are not an effective way of receiving this powerful coenzyme’s benefits because your body’s digestive system must break them down.
Mechanism of action for NAD+
The exact mechanisms of NAD+ restoration or augmentation for potential health benefits, such as supporting healthy aging and treating age-related conditions, metabolic and mitochondrial diseases, and addiction, are unknown.12320
NAD+ replacement may counterbalance age-related degradation of NAD+ and its precursor nicotinamide mononucleotide by NADases, in particular CD38, thereby preventing mitochondrial dysfunction and maintaining metabolic function/energy (ATP) production.7 However, studies in animal models and humans (and/or samples and cell lines) indicate that NAD+ replacement supports several other biological pathways via NAD+-dependent enzymes.12320
There are several notable NAD+-dependent enzymes. Poly-ADP ribose polymerases (PARP 1-17) control DNA repair and nuclear stability.13 CD38 and CD157 are NADases whose products (cADP-ribose, ADP-ribose and nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide) are used in Ca2+ signaling and intercellular immune communication.13 Sirtuins (Sirt 1-7) are a family of histone deacetylases that regulate of several proteins associated with cellular metabolism, cellular stress responses, circadian rhythms, and endocrine functions; Sirts have also been linked to longevity in model organisms and protective effects in cardiac and neuronal models.13 Sterile Alpha and Toll/Interleukin-1 Receptor motif-containing 1 (SARM1), is a recently discovered NAD+ hydrolase involved in neuronal degeneration and regeneration.2122
Some insight into the mechanism of action of NAD+ replacement has been obtained from studies of progeroid (premature aging) syndromes, which mimic the clinical and molecular features of aging. Werner syndrome (WS) is believed to most closely resemble natural aging and is characterized by extensive metabolic dysfunction, dyslipidemia, premature atherosclerosis, and insulin-resistant diabetes.23 WS is caused by mutations in the gene encoding the Werner (WRN) DNA helicase,24 which regulates transcription of a key NAD+ biosynthetic enzyme called nicotinamide nucleotide adenylyltransferase 1.25
A 2019 study found that NAD+ depletion is a major driver of the metabolic dysfunction in WS through dysregulation of mitochondrial homeostasis.25 Cells with depleted NAD+ from samples of WS patients and WS animal models showed impaired mitophagy (selective degradation of defective mitochondria).25 NAD+ repletion restored NAD+ metabolic profiles, improved fat metabolism, reduced mitochondrial oxidative stress, and improved mitochondrial quality by restoring normal mitophagy in human cells with mutated WRN.25 In animal models, NAD+ repletion significantly extended lifespan and delayed accelerated aging, including increased numbers of proliferating stem cells in the germ line.25 Replacement of NAD+ by administering various NAD+ precursor molecules recapitulated the results, confirming that the beneficial effects are due to NAD+ repletion.25
Providing additional support for the role of NAD+ in promoting mitochondrial and metabolic health, murine cells overexpressing the NADase CD38 consumed less oxygen, had increased lactate levels, and possessed irregular mitochondria, including features such as lost or swollen cristae.7 Isolated mitochondria from these cells showed severe loss of NAD+ and NADH compared to controls. In mice lacking CD38, NAD+ levels, mitochondrial respiratory rates, and metabolic functions were preserved during aging.7
Pharmacokinetics of NAD+
One pharmacokinetic study has evaluated changes in concentrations of NAD+ and its metabolites in a cohort of healthy male participants (n=11; NAD+ n=8 and control n=3) during NAD+ IV infusion. Participants received a 6-hour continuous IV infusion of NAD+ (750 mg dose at 3 μmoles/min), which resulted in a significant increase in plasma levels of NAD+ (398%), nicotinamide (409%), adenosine phosphoribosyl (ADPR; 393%) at the end of infusion relative to baseline (p <.0001); these levels were all significantly different than in the control group (p <.001, p<.001, and p<.0001, respectively).10 After 8 hours, differences between the groups remained significant for levels of NAD+ but not of nicotinamide and ADPR.10 Within both groups, levels of these two NAD+ metabolites were significantly correlated over the 8-hour timeframe (=1.0, p <.001), suggesting cleavage of NAD+ to nicotinamide and ADPR by NADases, such as CD38.10
Consistent with increased nicotinamide, plasma levels of its metabolites methyl nicotinamide (350%) and nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN; 472%) also significantly increased at the end of the NAD+ infusion relative to baseline (p <.0001 and p <.05) and the control group (p <.0001 and p <.05, respectively).10
In the NAD+ group, levels of NAD+ excreted in the urine significantly increased (538%) after infusion (at 6 h) relative to that measured at 30 minutes (p<.001); it was also significantly different from the controls (p <.05).10 This level decreased by 43% at the 8-hour time point relative to the peak at 6 hours (p <.05).10
Excess NAD+ and its metabolites are excreted in the urine.10 Urine excretion levels of nicotinamide did not change over the 8-hour period in the NAD+ group; however, those of methyl nicotinamide significantly increased (403%) after infusion (at 6 h) relative to that measured at 30 minutes (p <.01).10 This level also decreased by 43% at the 8-hour time point relative to the peak at 6 hours (p <.05).10
Notably, no significant increases in plasma or urine levels of NAD+ or its metabolites were observed within the first 2 hours of infusion, indicating rapid and complete tissue uptake and/or metabolism (at least for the first 2 hours).10
Intracellular concentrations of NAD+ are maintained between 0.2 and 0.5 mM, and intracellular NAD+ pools are believed to be compartmentalized among the nucleus, cytosol, and mitochondria with NAD+ salvage pathways functioning according to compartment-specific needs.1 However, it is currently unknown how NAD+ injections affect intracellular and compartmental NAD+ pools.1
Why DripDok?
Before your first treatment, we will review your past medical history, discuss ketamine, go over your treatment plan and goals, and review the risks and benefits of the procedure. Our team will be sure to answer all of your questions so you are informed and feel comfortable.
DripDok was the first in Indonesia to perform NAD+ and elite peptide infusions after over 2 years of clinical trials.
monitored by a compassionate team of highly trained, knowledgeable medical clinicians. We are an Evidence-Based Center of Excellence established in recent NDA+, peptide, and NMDA antagonists and committed to advancing such research by utilizing patient improvements to measure results to ultimately improve patient outcomes.
Be extremely careful about what you infuse into your body. NAD+ infusions must be very carefully prepared and stored. Most don’t know the proper membrane, charge, or endotoxin acceptability. They simply copy what they see.
DripDok was developed and founded by a Harvard, MIT, and Purdue graduate who holds a Doctorate in physical medicine.
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