10/26/15 Updated 2/12/18
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NICOTINAMIDE PREVENTS SKIN CANCER AND GLAUCOMA (in mice)
Lawrenceville, NJ (Dr Simone) – Nicotinamide is one form of the B vitamin, niacin. We have already discussed another form of niacin, nicotinic acid: Niacin – Nicotinic Acid Form – Lowers Cholesterol, LDL, Triglycerides, and Raises HDL.
Skin cancers such as basal cell cancer and squamous cell cancer are common cancers that are mainly caused by ultraviolet light. In a phase 3, double blind, randomized, controlled trial 193 patients were given 500 mg of nicotinamide twice daily and 193 patients were given placebo (Chen et. N Engl J Med 2015; 373:1618-26).
Oral nicotinamide was safe and effective in reducing the rates of basal cell and squamous cell cancers and also actinic keratoses, a pre-skin cancer.
GLAUCOMA
Glaucoma is the leading cause of vision loss worldwide. For more than 150 years it has been treated by reducing the pressure in the eye using drugs or surgery. However, recently nicotinamide has been shown to prevent glaucoma in aged mice by enhancing the energy status of retinal ganglion cells by improving mitochondrial health despite elevation of intraocular pressure (Williams PA, et al. Science. 2017; 355:756-60). The authors indicate the equivalent dose of 2.5 grams of nicotinamide for a person weighing 60 kg (132 pounds).
Normal Vision
This is what a person with glaucoma would see
