{"id":5148,"date":"2026-07-22T13:08:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T13:08:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5148"},"modified":"2026-07-22T13:08:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T13:08:07","slug":"what-is-nad-the-anti-aging-treatment-connected-to-womans-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5148","title":{"rendered":"What is NAD+, the \u2018anti-aging\u2019 treatment connected to woman\u2019s death"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The death of a young woman injected with NAD+ by an unlicensed doctor in the Bronx to which she\u2019d entrusted her care is shining a light on the celebrity-favored boosting therapy.<\/p>\n

Read more Map: Little Fire evacuation and perimeter near Pleasanton<\/a><\/p>\n

Assistant District Attorney Ethan Reisbaum said in Bronx Criminal Court early Tuesday that Elizabeth Baron, 27, \u201cimmediately went into cardiac arrest and later was pronounced dead\u201d Sunday after receiving an injection of Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide at Luis Rojas Cabrera\u2019s Bereshit Lifestyle Center in Riverdale.<\/p>\n

It is unclear at this time whether NAD+ caused Baron\u2019s death, as autopsy and toxicology results from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner are pending.<\/p>\n

Cabrera, 55, who billed himself as a \u201cM.D., Surgeon, Naturopath,\u201d is facing charges of reckless endangerment and unauthorized practice of a profession. He\u2019s been released without bail.<\/p>\n

So what is NAD+, and who buys into the youthful glow it claims to promise?<\/p>\n

What is NAD or NAD+?<\/h4>\n

NAD, or NAD+ stands for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, a molecule that is naturally present in the human body and is involved in hundreds of cellular processes, including energy production, muscle metabolism and DNA regeneration. Some researchers have found older people to have lower levels of NAD, suggesting the molecule plays a role in aging.<\/p>\n

However, two studies from earlier this year, including one not yet peer reviewed, found that NAD+ levels do not decrease with age in healthy individuals.<\/p>\n

While some studies have found that boosting NAD can give renewed vigor to elderly mice, there is little evidence supporting its use in humans. In a 2022 review of clinical trials testing NAD boosting therapies in humans, about 90 percent of the studies found no difference between NAD therapies and a placebo, according to researchers at Newcastle University in the U.K. The review also found a high level of bias in the studies reporting positive results. A 2025 review published in Nature reported a similar lack of scientific support.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t seen convincing evidence that they prolong lifespan in animal models, and I certainly wouldn\u2019t take any myself until they\u2019d been proven to work, be safe and efficacious in a properly run, double-blind, placebo-controlled human trial,\u201d David Vaux, a professor and molecular biologist, told the Guardian in 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiving these supplements to already healthy or relatively healthy people is not going to do too much because your body\u2019s already got enough,\u201d\u00a0Nigel Turner, a professor who heads up the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute\u2019s Cellular Bioenergetics Laboratory, told the outlet.<\/p>\n

Despite the lack of evidence, NAD+ boosters, which come in the form of pills, injections and IV drips, have become popular among the celebrity set. The boosters work by upping the chemical precursors to NAD \u2014 Nicotinamide Riboside (NR) and Nicotinamide Mononucleotide (NMN) \u2014 stimulating the production of NAD in the body.<\/p>\n

Which famous faces have bought in, or at least claimed to?<\/h4>\n

Kendall Jenner and Hailey Bieber extolled NAD boosters in a May 2022 episode of Hulu\u2019s \u201cThe Kardashians,\u201d during the show\u2019s inaugural season. The supermodels received the substance through IV drips, though they\u2019re also available in pill-form and injections, with self-proclaimed hypochondriac Jenner, now 30, saying IV therapy \u201ccomfort[s] me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more 49ers\u2019 linebacker unit more than just a Warner-Greenlaw reunion<\/a><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Bieber, now 29, joked at the time she intended to continue NAD for the rest of her days. \u201cAnd I\u2019m never going to age.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jennifer Aniston discussed NAD with the Los Angeles Times in late 2019, claiming at the time that it \u201cstarts to decrease as we get older,\u201d at which point, \u201cOur bodies start to break down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gwyneth Paltrow is a longtime NAD+ adherent, and her long controversial wellness company Goop is using it in a new cream.<\/p>\n

In addition to the drips, Paltrow told Elle earlier this year that she has \u201ca great little nAD+ pen where you can give yourself a shot when you need a boost. It\u2019s fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also in the bag for NAD+ are neuroscientist and podcaster Andrew Huberman, as well as \u201cbiohackers\u201d Bryan Johnson and Gary Brecka.<\/p>\n

The concept of biohacking, functional medicine specialist Dr. Melissa Young explains, is \u201cmaximizing a human performance by hacking our biology,\u201d whether through lifestyle, environmental, or physical changes.<\/p>\n

How to find a reputable med spa \u2014 it\u2019s not as simple as you think<\/h4>\n

There\u2019s more to finding a reputable and licensed med spa than a simple Google search, per the New York Department of State.<\/p>\n

Because Botox and filler must be administered by a needle or pressure pen, it is a medical procedure that must be performed by someone with a medical license. That extends to seemingly low-risk offerings like microneedling, dermal peels, plasma treatments, Ozempic and other GLP-1s, or IV therapy.<\/p>\n

Any business offering or promoting \u201cmed spa\u201d services must be licensed as either a medical facility or medical practice and employ licensed physicians and nurse practitioners, per DOS.<\/p>\n

Read more San Jose man charged with murder after claiming strangulation was sex accident<\/a><\/p>\n

The department advises potential consumers to verify licensing on their website.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After a young New York woman lost her life following an injection of NAD+, it begs the question what is really going on with the ostensible anti-aging substance that’s hooked celebrities and “biohackers?”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5147,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat is NAD+, the \u2018anti-aging\u2019 treatment connected to woman\u2019s death - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5148\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What is NAD+, the \u2018anti-aging\u2019 treatment connected to woman\u2019s death - 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