In one trial, nicotinamide riboside halved a lung inflammation marker
Forty people with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease took it for six weeks. Interleukin-8 in their sputum fell an estimated 52.6 percent against placebo.
What the study found
Six weeks halved an inflammation marker in diseased airways
Forty people with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease took nicotinamide riboside for six weeks. Interleukin-8 in their sputum, a marker of airway inflammation, fell an estimated 52.6 percent against placebo and was still down twelve weeks after the pills stopped.
The caveat · A marker in spit, not breathing
The outcome is a marker in spit, not a symptom: nothing was reported about breathlessness, flare-ups, lung function or quality of life. The confidence interval runs from a 76 percent reduction to a 7.6 percent one, so the size of the effect is barely pinned down. Inflammation in the blood did not change, so the effect did not travel beyond the airway. Two authors are employees and shareholders of the company selling the compound.