Vitamin B 3 modulates mitochondrial vulnerability and prevents glaucoma in aged mice
https://www.research...ma_in_aged_mice
For those who didn't find access to this paper before its been publicly posted.
As someone with glaucoma, I've made several posts in the past about niacin raising my IOPs and producing some retinal edema, which resulted in my reducing or eliminating niacin supplemention. However, I found the above research quite compelling, and it makes sense that NR, by increasing NAD+ levels, may reduce the negative effects of reduced retinal and optic nerve circulation that is likely driving glaucoma progression, especially at night.
So, in addition to other measures, I've started taking 125 mg of NR in the middle of the night (in addition to 250 mg during day) to see if this slows my glaucoma progression, as measured by visual field response and nerve fiber layer thickness (via OCT). I had already determined that taking NR anytime in the evening was making getting to sleep more difficult, so that was not an option (see earlier posts about circadian rhythm issues with NR). However, by waiting till middle of sleep period to take the NR, although causing some insomnia for first few days, I'm now sleeping well with more vivid morning dreams and probably less pain from any reduced circulation issues.
btw, I had already determined that taking the 250 mg of NR during the day had not affected my rate of glaucoma progression, but I wasn't surprised by that, since it I had already concluded that most of the risk plays out during the night, due to potentially lower levels of oxygen, glucose, NAD+, etc., tied to reduced circulation (higher IOP, lower BP), inadequate nutrition, and/or aging effects. It seems likely too that there are lots of other localized areas of the body which may be put at risk during the night, and which might be helped by NR and increased NAD+ levels. And perhaps taking NR in the middle of the night can help address these issues without producting insomnia or significantly disrupting circadian rhythm.