Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH)--a new therapeutic approach to Parkinson's disease. Comparison of oral and parenteral application.

The reduced coenzyme nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) has been used as medication in 885 parkinsonian patients in an open label trial. About half of the patients received NADH by intravenous infusion, the other part orally by capsules. In about 80% of the patients a beneficial clinical effect was observed: 19.3% of the patients showed a very good (30-50%) improvement of disability, 58.8% a moderate (10-30%) improvement. 21.8% did not respond to NADH. Statistical analysis of the improvement in correlation with the disability prior to treatment, the duration of the disease and the age of the patients revealed the following results: All these 3 parameters have a significant although weak influence on the improvement. The disability before the treatment has a positive regression coefficient (t value < 0.01). The duration of the disease has a negative regression coefficient (< 0.01) and so has the age a negative regression coefficient (t value < 0.05). In other words younger patients and patients with a shorter duration of disease have a better chance to gain a marked improvement than older patients and patients with longer duration of the disease. The orally applied form of NADH yielded an overall improvement in the disability which was comparable to that of the parenterally applied form.