Key points from article :
Animal studies supported evidence that niacin may be beneficial for Parkinson’s disease.
This double-blind study enrolled 32 men and 15 women with Parkinson’s disease
Daily supplements of either a placebo, 100 mg of niacin, or 250 mg of slow-release niacin.
80% of subjects receiving 100 mg experienced flushing, compared to only 5% of the 250-mg slow-release group.
The Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale III improved at 12 months by 3.5 points.
Secondary measures also improved, including handwriting, perception of fatigue, mood, postural control, and frontal EEG rhythm.
Quality of sleep did not change after 12 months.
Visual attention and task switching was poorer.
At 12 months, niacin levels were approximately 34% higher in plasma.
One anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-10) and two pro-inflammatory cytokines increased (MIP-1a and IL-1ß).
Need for a larger scale, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial.
Study by Augusta University published in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience.
