
Science of NAD
How are your NAD levels today?


Pregnancy and post-partum are times of great metabolic disturbance, and the mouse studies show that maintaining NAD levels has an extraordinary impact not only on fertility and egg health before pregnancy, but also a long-term benefit for the pups of nursing moms that had adequate NAD. Whether these studies translate to humans remains to be seen.
Here are the studies:
Dec 26, 2022
Reproduction - Fertility
Free Radical Biology and Medicine
Intermittent fasting reverses the declining quality of aged oocytes
Li, Chan
Summary
Just one month of every-other-day fasting was sufficient to improve oocyte quality [in mice]...Positive impact of intermittent fasting on aged oocytes was mediated by restoration of the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+)/Sirt1-mediated antioxidant defense system, which eliminated excessive accumulated ROS to suppress DNA damage and apoptosis.
Oct 1, 2022
Reproduction - Fertility
Reproduction
Nicotinamide Riboside supplementation ameliorated postovulatory oocyte quality decline
Li, Hui
Summary
NR treatment not only restored MII oocyte quality but also enhanced early embryonic development potential of postovulatory oocytes via alleviating mitochondrial dysfunction and maintaining normal spindle/chromosome structure. ...NR supplementation increases the oocyte quality and early embryonic development potential in post-ovulatory oocytes which could potentially increase the successful rate in assisted reproductive technology.
Sep 4, 2022
Reproduction - Fertility
Biomedicines
Methods for Assessing Oocyte Quality: A Review of Literature
Lemseffer, Yassir
Summary
The rate of infertility continues to rise in the world for several reasons, including the age of conception and current lifestyle. We list in this paper potential non-invasive and invasive techniques to assess oocyte quality. We searched the database PubMed using the terms “oocytes AND quality AND evaluation”. In the first part, we study the morphological criteria, compartment by compartment, to then focus in a second part on more objective techniques such as genetics, molecular, apoptosis, or human follicular fluid that contain biologically active molecules. The main criteria used to assess oocyte quality are morphological; however, several other techniques have been studied in women to improve oocyte quality assessment, but most of them are invasive and not usable in routine.
Apr 21, 2022
Reproduction - Fertility
Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology
Effects of nicotinamide on follicular development and the quality of oocytes
Guo, Ziyu
Summary
The level of NAM in large follicles was significantly higher than that in small follicles. In mature FF, the NAM concentration was positively correlated with the rates of oocyte maturation and fertilization. Five mM NAM treatment during IVM increased maturation rate and fertilization rate in the oxidative stress model, and significantly reduced the increase of ROS levels induced by H2O2 in mice oocytes. Higher levels of NAM in FF are associated with larger follicle development. The supplement of 5 mM NAM during IVM may improve mice oocyte quality, reducing damage caused by oxidative stress...However, we found that an excessive NAM concentration inhibited the maturation and fertilization of oocytes.
Jan 1, 2022
Reproduction - Fertility
JBRA Assisted Reproduction
Oocyte quality and aging
Moghadam, ARE
Summary
It is well known that female reproduction ability decreases during the forth decade of life due to age-related changes in oocyte quality and quantity; although the number of women trying to conceive has today increased remarkably between the ages of 36 to 44. The causes of reproductive aging and physiological aspects of this phenomenon are still elusive. With increase in the women’s age, during Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) we have perceived a significant decline in the number and quality of retrieved oocytes, as well as in ovarian follicle reserves. This is because of increased aneuploidy due to factors such as spindle apparatus disruption; oxidative stress and mitochondrial damage. The aim of this review paper is to study data on the potential role of the aging process impacting oocyte quality and female reproductive ability. We present the current evidence that show the decreased oocyte quality with age, related to reductions in female reproductive outcome...
Aug 20, 2020
Reproduction - Fertility
Free Radical Biology and Medicine
Increasing ovarian NAD+ levels improve mitochondrial functions and reverse ovarian aging
Yang, Quingling
Summary
Loss of follicles together with decreased oocyte quality and quantity contribute to age-associated ovarian senescence and infertility. Although underlying mechanisms for ovarian senescence are still unknown, mitochondrial dysfunctions have been reported. Here, we showed age-dependent decreases in ovarian Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide (NAD+) levels in mice whereas supplementing aging mice with nicotinamide riboside (NR), an NAD+ precursor, increased ovarian NAD+ content. We found that increases in ovarian NAD+ levels in aging mice led to increased number of ovarian follicles and ovulatory potential as well as increased live birth rate...Our data suggested that supplementation with NAD+ precursors in vivo and in vitro could be potential therapeutic approaches for treating age-related ovarian infertility.
May 7, 2020
Reproduction - Fertility
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA
Oocytes can efficiently repair DNA double-strand breaks to restore genetic integrity and protect offspring health
Stringer, Jessica M.
Summary
An adequate supply of healthy oocytes is essential for female fertility. Oocytes that sustain even very low levels of DNA damage are killed, presumably because the damage is irreparable. Surprisingly, however, we show that when apoptosis is inhibited, oocytes can repair severe DNA damage via homologous recombination repair. The repair is highly efficient; it protects fertility and ensures the health and genetic integrity of offspring. These data implicate DNA repair as an additional quality control mechanism available within the female germ line.
Feb 11, 2020
Reproduction - Fertility - Pregnancy
Cell Reports
NAD+ Repletion Rescues Female Fertility during Reproductive Aging
Bertoldo, Michael J.
Dec 1, 2019
Reproduction - Fertility
Annals of Translational Medicine
Mitochondria: the panacea to improve oocyte quality?
Qi, Lingbin
Summary
Oocyte quality is one of the most important factors involving in female reproduction. The number of compromised oocytes will increase with maternal age, while mitochondrial dysfunction has implicated in age-related poor oocyte...In this review, we summarize the potential mechanism of mitochondria in oocyte and embryo development and discuss the next step for mitochondrial transfer therapy.
Nov 22, 2019
Reproduction - Fertility
Frontiers in Endocrinology
Impact of Oxidative Stress on Age-Associated Decline in Oocyte Developmental Competence
Sasaki, Hiroyuki
Jun 29, 2018
Reproduction - Fertility
Frontiers in Endocrinology
Impact of Maternal Age on Oocyte and Embryo Competence
Cimadomo, Danilo
Summary
In this review, we provide a summary of the main putative causes for the age-related decrease in oocyte/embryo competence, along with the mechanisms underlying aging and the main clinical strategies proposed to prevent/limit the impact of advanced maternal age upon in vitro fertilization (IVF) success.