Posted on 08/06/2025 12:54:42 PM PDT by Red Badger
Lab-dish study using brain cells from elderly mice yields promising results for a potential anti-aging recipe, but more research is necessary.
In A Nutshell
* Aging brain cells in mice restored youthful energy balance (GTP levels) within 16 hours using vitamin B3 and green tea extract
* The treatment cleared toxic protein buildup and improved survival by 22% in Alzheimer’s-model neurons
* It also restored waste-clearing vesicle function by reducing the buildup of Rab7- and Arl8b-tagged vesicles
* Findings are based on in vitro studies and will require confirmation in living animals and humans
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IRVINE, Calif. — Can brain cells really bounce back in a day? In an exciting lab-dish experiment, brain cells from elderly mice regained their youthful energy balance in just 16 hours using a combination of nicotinamide (vitamin B3) and EGCG, the main antioxidant in green tea.
As brain cells age, they lose their ability to produce adequate levels of GTP, a molecular energy source essential for cleaning up waste. Without it, neurons struggle to remove damaged proteins and debris, which can build up and disrupt brain function.
Published in GeroScience, the research shows that aged brain cells, including those from mice with Alzheimer’s-like symptoms, restored their GTP levels after a single treatment. The combination also cleared toxic protein clumps linked to Alzheimer’s and improved cell survival by 22% in aged Alzheimer’s-model neurons.
How Vitamin B3 and Green Tea Compound Restore Brain Cell Function Researchers from the University of California, Irvine, discovered that combining nicotinamide with EGCG could rapidly restore lost cellular energy. Nicotinamide boosts levels of NAD+, a molecule that supports cellular metabolism and serves as a precursor in GTP production. EGCG activates Nrf2, a cellular defense switch that turns on protective antioxidant genes.
Within 30 minutes of treatment, Nrf2 began moving into the nucleus of neurons, where it activated known target genes like NQO1. This response suggests the treatment provides both immediate antioxidant protection and a boost in cellular energy balance.
The research team used brain cells from young (2–6 months), middle-aged (8–11 months), and old (17–28 months) mice. Half came from healthy mice, while the other half came from genetically modified mice that develop Alzheimer’s-like symptoms with age.
Using a fluorescent biosensor called GEVAL, scientists measured real-time GTP levels inside the neurons. They then treated the older neurons with nicotinamide, EGCG, or both together for 16 hours.
Happy senior: Older woman has strong brain health Though follow-up studies are in order, the findings are great news for older adults, particularly those who drink green tea. (Photo by Krakenimages.com on Shutterstock) Brain Cells Regain Youthful Energy Levels After Treatment Energy levels followed different trajectories depending on age and disease. In healthy neurons, GTP levels rose in middle age before falling in old age. In Alzheimer’s-model neurons, the decline happened earlier and remained low.
After 16 hours of combination treatment, neurons from both groups regained GTP levels comparable to those of young cells. This energy restoration had visible effects: neurons resumed clearing cellular waste, including amyloid-beta protein clumps often seen in Alzheimer’s disease.
The treatment also reduced the buildup of vesicles involved in waste processing. These vesicles, marked by the GTPases Rab7 and Arl8b, tend to accumulate in aging neurons when energy is low. After treatment, the number and size of these vesicles returned to youthful levels, suggesting that cellular cleanup pathways were functioning more normally again.
Further Research Needed
While promising, the study has limitations. It was conducted on neurons in petri dishes (not in living animals) and only measured short-term effects. It’s unknown whether the benefits would persist over time or in full organisms.
The Alzheimer’s mouse model also produces higher-than-natural levels of disease proteins. Further research will need to test these results in live animals and eventually in humans to determine dosing, delivery, and safety.
“More work is going to be required to find the best way to administer this treatment, since a recent clinical trial involving UC Irvine researchers showed that oral nicotinamide was not very effective because of inactivation in the bloodstream,” said lead author Gregory Brewer, adjunct professor of biomedical engineering at UC Irvine, in a statement.
Still, the findings suggest brain cell aging may be more reversible than previously believed. Simple compounds like vitamin B3 and green tea extract could one day help protect brain health and support cleanup processes that falter with age.
Disclaimer: This article summarizes findings from a preclinical study conducted on isolated mouse brain cells in laboratory conditions. The results, while promising, have not yet been tested in living animals or humans. Dosage estimates and potential implications for human health are extrapolations based on standard scientific methods and are provided for informational purposes only.
This content is not intended as medical advice and should not be used to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making changes to your supplement or healthcare routine, especially when considering high doses of vitamins or antioxidants.
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On some Japanese islands the elderly live well into their late 90s and beyond. I’m sure Green Tea is one part of their well balanced diet.
Niacin is a potent vasodilator.
All this proves is that inflammation is the cause of what they are suggesting is some sort of therapy without addressing the cause of the inflammation - and all the other negative health effects thereof - whatsoever.
*sigh*
To-wit, do a search for ‘vitamin b3 side effects’ and make an informed decision to do what they are suggesting here for brain health.
More supposed very smart people banging their drums (and wasting Alzheimer’s research $$),
“Here: Lookee what I did! (ignore those side effects; it really does work! [’more research needed’; please donate)” /s
RE: an exciting lab-dish experiment, brain cells from elderly mice regained their youthful energy balance in just 16 hours using
Sigh, we already have cures for a lot of diseases in lab-dishes and animals. Humans are a different thing altogether…
WARNING: FOR THOSE WITH DIABETES
Vitamin B3 (niacin) has a complex relationship with diabetes, offering potential benefits for lipid management while also posing risks for blood sugar control.
Bkmk
The Walt Disney Corporation should be financing the scientific work benefiting elderly mice. Mickey is nearly 100 years old.
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Nice.
But first, they must find a way to turn it into an expensive, patented, prescription drug.
If a person took the advice of the hundreds of health studies, that person would be running around in circles trying to keep up with them and wind up dead sooner than if he ignored all of them.
“Niacin” B3 comes in various forms, is it niacin they mean, or nicotinamide?
Here’s a link to confuse further:
https://www.jinfiniti.com/nad-vs-niacin-vs-niacinamide-vitamin-b3-differences/
I drink green tea every morning and take plenty of vitamins, including B.
I’m 89 and my MD expects me to live to be 100. Have to because nobody else could put up with my bitchy kitty..
I drink raw green tea like a madman during the winter and I never catch a cold.
Make sure that bitchy kitty knows that ;)
LOL. I told Daisy to be nice because if I croak, she’s flying to CA to live with my niece who has a beautiful long-haired black cat, Abby, who’s twice as big as she is. Fur would fly endlessly.
My neighbor, who had a radiology center, told me in 2020 that he had applied for approval for med-beds. Still no med-beds five years later, but I did see an ad for them in The NZ Herald about 3 years ago. Where are they? The release of them would make Big Pharma obsolete and they couldn’t brag on these “breakthroughs” when they already have cures for practically every disease known to man, but that doesn’t make them obscenely rich. And my neighbor- got squeezed out by the hospital system that wanted to take over his center. Our entire medical system is heinous and why I quit renewing my nursing license in 2012.
Just the other day I was thinking I need something to improve my memory, but I forget why I thought that.
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