The science behind cellular energy

Part 1 of a 2-part, open-label clinical trial evaluating repeated nicotinamide riboside parenteral administration: 3 consecutive days of intramuscular and subcutaneous injections

The in-clinic safety phase in 39 adults that led into Part 2. Injections were well tolerated and raised whole-blood NAD+.

Funded by ChromaDex. Not yet peer reviewed.

The NASA Twins Study: A multidimensional analysis of a year-long human spaceflight

Tracked one twin through 340 days on the International Space Station against his Earth-bound brother, finding changes in metabolism and immune and oxidative-stress pathways.

Mitochondrial impairment but not peripheral inflammation predicts greater Gulf War illness severity

In 36 people, weaker mitochondrial respiration tracked 17 of 20 Gulf War illness symptoms, while inflammation did not predict severity.

Time-restricted eating improves quality of life, heart rate, and mitochondrial function in patients with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome

In 20 people with POTS, 12 weeks of an 8–10 hour eating window improved symptoms and raised mitochondrial ATP production measured from plasma.

Mitochondria-localized caveolin in adaptation to cellular stress and injury

Showed the protein caveolin moves to mitochondria under stress, boosting respiration and protecting the heart from damage.

Comprehensive multi-omics analysis reveals mitochondrial stress as a central biological hub for spaceflight impact

Combined data from 59 astronauts, NASA GeneLab and the Twins Study; mitochondrial stress was the common thread across tissues.

Mitochondrial signal transduction

Argues mitochondria are the cell's information processor, not just its powerhouse, sensing stress and signalling to the whole body.

Mitochondria: in sickness and in health

Classic review of how mitochondrial energy, signalling and network dynamics link to neurodegenerative and metabolic disease.

The rise of mitochondria in medicine

Traces how mitochondrial dysfunction emerged as a shared mechanism behind many common chronic diseases.

A mitochondrial paradigm of metabolic and degenerative diseases, aging, and cancer

Landmark paper proposing that declining mitochondrial energy production underlies age-related diseases and cancer.

Mitochondrial diseases

Definitive primer on inherited mitochondrial disease, the most common group of inherited metabolic disorders.

The Bioenergetic Health Index: a new concept in mitochondrial translational research

Proposed a single score of mitochondrial health, measured in blood platelets and white cells, as an early-warning biomarker.

The Bioenergetic Health Index is a sensitive measure of oxidative stress in human monocytes

Follow-up showing the blood-cell index picks up oxidative stress, linking it to chronic disease risk.

Cellular bioenergetics is impaired in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome

Immune cells from ME/CFS patients had consistently lower maximal respiration than those from healthy controls.

Mitochondrial dysfunction and type 2 diabetes

Proposes that faulty mitochondria drive both insulin resistance and failing insulin secretion.

Mitochondrial dysfunction in the elderly: possible role in insulin resistance

Lean, healthy older adults had about 40% lower muscle mitochondrial activity and marked insulin resistance.

Mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress in neurodegenerative diseases

Evidence that mitochondrial failure occurs early in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, ALS and Huntington's disease.

Expert consensus document: Mitochondrial function as a therapeutic target in heart failure

Cardiology experts agree that repairing mitochondria is a direct route to improving heart function.

Mitochondria and cancer

How tumours depend on mitochondrial energy, signalling and dynamics, and why that makes them a drug target.

Core mitochondrial genes are down-regulated during SARS-CoV-2 infection of rodent and human hosts

The virus suppressed mitochondrial genes; the lungs recovered but the heart, kidney and liver stayed impaired.

Circulating mitochondrial DAMPs cause inflammatory responses to injury

Mitochondrial DNA released by injury triggers a sepsis-like immune response, linking mitochondria to inflammation.

Metabolic features of the cell danger response

Proposes that mitochondria lead the cell's defence response, and that it can get stuck “on” in chronic disease.

Hallmarks of aging: an expanding universe

Names mitochondrial dysfunction as one of the 12 core hallmarks of aging.

Psychological stress and mitochondria: a systematic review

19 of 23 controlled studies found psychological stress harms mitochondria, a load the authors call “mitochondrial allostatic load”.