Niacin, who knew?! Research shows that in the brain, niacin interacts with a highly-selective receptor, HCAR2, present in immune cells physically associated with amyloid plaques. When niacin activates the receptor, it stimulates beneficial actions from these immune cells. After the Alzheimer's disease animal models received niacin, they ended up with fewer plaques and they have improved cognition. Past epidemiology studies of niacin and Alzheimer's disease showed that people who had higher levels of niacin in their diet had diminished risk of the disease. Niacin is also currently being used in clinical trials in Parkinson's disease and glioblastoma.
In the central nervous system, vitamin B3 has long been recognized as a key mediator of neuronal development and survival. Niacin (also known as “vitamin B3” or “vitamin PP”) includes two vitamers (nicotinic acid and nicotinamide) giving rise to the coenzymatic forms nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP). Niacin is crucial in regulating biological functions, including gene expression, cell cycle progression, DNA repair and cell death.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...
This is not new information on niacin and the CNS - researchers identified the cell receptor that is present in immune cells. This screams autoimmune disease to me. You don't need a niacin prescription either.
mdlinx.com/news/researchers...
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