Researchers at Tokushima University in Japan have found that supplementation with NMN (niacinamide mononucleotide) can 

reduce proteinuria within two weeks, inhibit the progression of focal glomerulosclerosis, and protect kidney function.

The glomerulus is the key part of the kidney to filter the blood. It is spherical as a whole, and the balloon contains many capillaries, 

and there are special filtering structures. Blood in the body flows through these capillaries and completes the filtration process, 

which leaches out liquid and metabolic waste to form prourine. However, due to a variety of pathogenic factors, glomerulosclerosis 

will occur and lead to focal glomerulosclerosis (focal glomerulosclerosis), which is usually manifested by severe proteinuria and 

edema in clinical practice, seriously affecting the health status of patients.

Focal glomerulosclerosis is the leading cause of end-stage renal disease (also known as renal failure), so finding a treatment for it 

has important clinical value. In 2022, scientists at Tokushima University in Japan found that just 2 weeks of NMN (niacinamide 

mononucleotide) injection was effective in treating kidney damage caused by focal glomerular sclerosis in mice. The findings are 

published in Scientific Reports, a journal owned by Nature.

In the experiment, the researchers first injected a small amount of Adriamycin (ADR) into the abdominal cavity of 8-week-old mice 

(equivalent to about 17 years in humans). It induced the mice to develop focal glomerulosclerosis, a severe decline in kidney 

function. For the next two weeks, the researchers injected 500mg/kg of NMN per day (equivalent to about 2.25g in humans) through 

the abdominal cavity of the mice, and the control group received the same amount of saline daily.

The effect of NMN treatment was first reflected in the weight of the mice. Because decreased kidney function affected the metabolic 

profile of the mice, the untreated mice (ADR group) lost a significant amount of weight, while the NMN-treated mice maintained their 

weight in line with that of healthy mice without disease (Cont group).

In addition, 2 weeks of NMN treatment significantly improved kidney function in mice. The kidney function of the mice was tested on 

the 14th day of NMN injection and on the 28th day of continuous observation thereafter. It was found that NMN significantly reduced 

the ACR (urinary albumin creatinine ratio) value of the mice's urine, which means that the mice's kidneys maintained a good filtering 

capacity, so that large molecules such as albumin could not "leak" through the kidney barrier into the urine. Moreover, the effect of 

treatment continued to be effective 2 weeks after stopping treatment.

In addition, creatinine, a waste product of muscle metabolism in the mice's serum, was also significantly reduced after NMN treatment, 

also demonstrating that the kidney's filtering function was restored.

After further experiments, the researchers found that the therapeutic effect of NMN on focal glomerulosclerosis was related to increased 

levels of NAD+ in the kidneys, and higher levels of NAD+ activated Sirt1 protein and regulated a series of biochemical processes, thereby 

maintaining the physiological function of the kidneys. Combined with the team's discovery in 2021 that NMN is equally effective in diabetic 

kidney disease in mice, we may see NMN appear in the treatment of human kidney disease in the future.