Minimally Stimulated Ketamine Infusion Therapy (MSKIT®) protocols were established to ensure the treatment provides the greatest success for the patient in the safest possible way. MSKIT® protocols include adjuncts such as NAD+ to enhance the benefits of what we can do with ketamine-only treatment. When a patient receives treatment at Scenic City Neurotherapy, they are receiving a process, not a single drug.
What is NAD+?
Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) is a coenzyme that is naturally produced in your body to repair DNA and facilitate energy production. Coenzymes, often referred to as “helper molecules”, are less effective alone and a crucial catalyst for enzymes that also cannot function solo. Consider the enzymes in your mitochondria – NAD+ is responsible for activating these enzymes, turning nutrients into energy, and assisting in the production of over 90% of your body’s energy.
Scientists began studying NAD+ in the early 1900s for its role in fermentation. Little did they know that years later it would play a role in mitigating pellagra, a debilitating disease caused by a deficiency in niacin (Vitamin B3), a precursor to NAD+. These findings and more pointed to what we now know about NAD+ playing a critical role in facilitating the body’s creation of proteins, enzymes, and other biologic compounds necessary for our body’s natural processes to occur.
How does NAD+ affect withdrawal?
Since the 1960s, NAD+ has been used to minimize symptoms and shorten the duration of alcohol, opioid, benzodiazepine, and antidepressant withdrawal. The excessive use of these substances depletes NAD+ stores, inhibiting the production of energy needed for on-going metabolic processes. You can think of NAD+ as a powerful detoxifier. Your body begins to clear out the unnatural substances in your system, resulting in removal of cravings and reduction of withdrawal symptoms, which we understand to be extremely difficult, uncomfortable, and the reason many people end up in and out of treatment facilities.
When your body is capable of optimal energy production for its natural processes, you are able to recover better both physically and mentally. Thus, the benefits associated with adequate NAD+ levels extend far beyond withdrawal.
Can NAD+ reduce fatigue?
The straightforward answer is yes, NAD+ can reduce fatigue. There are a variety of factors that can drain your energy and leave you feeling more exhausted than usual such as irregular sleep patterns, persistent stress, mental illness, or brain fog.
NAD+ plays an essential role in the production of ATP, an organic compound that transfers energy from one cell to another for many processes in our body. It is an immediate source of energy (in small quantities) that cells can access faster than other larger energy sources such as glucose. Its functions include assisting metabolic processes, muscle contraction, synaptic signaling, helping enzyme-catalyzed reactions take place more quickly, and more. When NAD+ levels are in-balance, our body is better equipped to maintain homeostasis.
Why does NAD+ decline with age?
It is often said that our bodies and brains begin to decline as we age, but it’s rarely explained why. Over time our cells can become damaged from environmental factors, including extremes of temperature, exposure to toxins, and mechanical damage. Such damages trigger your internal cellular stress response, promoting cell survival or evoking programmed cell death.
NAD+ functions at the center of your cellular stress response. It binds with protein molecules to support cell vitality and survival. Low levels of NAD+ could result in an inability to stimulate the cellular stress response. The current body of research shows supplementing NAD+ can slow or prevent your body and brain’s decline with age.
Why Scenic City Neurotherapy?
At Scenic City Neurotherapy, we understand our patients’ outcomes depend on the protocols we follow. We follow best-practice methods developed by the foremost experts in the field of psychiatry and anesthesia at Yale, Stanford, and Johns Hopkins.
Our MSKIT® protocol, including NAD+, is designed for efficacy. Ketamine stimulates neurogenesis, or the regrowth of brain cells known as neurons, returning the brain to an optimal state in which you can work to alleviate depressive or chronic pain symptoms. NAD+ provides you with the boost in energy and cognition that is often needed to get back on track with daily practices that support your desired quality of life.
If you have questions about our process, call 423-228-0579 to schedule a no-cost consultation.
