Overview

• UC Irvine researchers report that nicotinamide (vitamin B3) and the green‑tea antioxidant EGCG restored guanosine triphosphate in aged Alzheimer’s‑model mouse neurons after a 24‑hour in‑vitro treatment.
• The compounds reactivated autophagy and reduced amyloid‑beta aggregates, with live measurements taken using a fluorescent GTP sensor.
• Data point to a drop in mitochondrial GTP as a driver of impaired cellular cleanup processes associated with ageing and Alzheimer’s pathology.
• The team cautions that optimal delivery remains unresolved, noting evidence that orally taken nicotinamide is inactivated in the bloodstream and was not very effective in a recent trial context.
• The substances are available as dietary supplements, but the evidence to date comes from laboratory neuron studies rather than demonstrated benefits in animals or patients.