There are often variances between men and women when it comes to health and longevity, but because of a (changing, but slowly) societal tendency to consider men as the default, the fact that women experience aging differently hasn’t always received the attention it deserves. Now researchers have made one step toward addressing that discrepancy by looking at the impact of NAD+ specifically on female fertility (https://longevity.technology/news/buck-institute-researchers-reveal-mechanism-linking-nad-to-fertility-problems/).
You’ll see frequent references to nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), a molecule found in every cell of the body, in modern longevity research. Its ubiquitous presence and multitude of important roles mean that the fact that growing older is accompanied by a decline in NAD+ can have a significant impact on cell functioning. A lot of attention has been paid to the potential benefits of NAD+ supplementation to mitigate the effects of aging, such as boosting mitochondrial performance and repairing damaged DNA.
We’ve recently discovered that NAD+ levels significantly decrease specifically in the ovaries, which seems to be linked to a reduction in both the number and quality of eggs. Fertility may be lost completely during menopause, which usually occurs between the late 40s and early 50s, but it begins to decline much earlier. This can make it much harder to have children at the time you choose, when you are emotionally prepared and financially stable. Figuring out the exact impact of NAD+ could boost reproductive health, but until this point, no one had really investigated how.
That changed thanks to scientists from the Buck Institute. They decided to focus their research on NAD+ and reproductive functioning, first by looking at the enzyme known as CD38. More CD38 as we age seems to lead to a concurrent decline in NAD+. The researchers looked for CD38 in the ovaries and found it in the organs’ immune cells. The ovarian follicles were next to specific structures that contained CD38. Another study looked at mice without CD38 and found they had more primordial follicles, which allowed their ovaries to release eggs even when they were older. Having fewer follicles reduces the lifespan of the ovary.
Understanding the role of decreasing NAD+ means we may be better able to target declining fertility with specific treatments in the future. It also has wider implications for our reproductive health, particularly around menopause, and the impact of aging on the body as a whole.
