IV and NAD+ Infusion Clinics

IV infusion clinics sit at the consumer end of the longevity market, and NAD+ is their flagship product. The underlying science is real: NAD+ is a coenzyme central to cellular energy metabolism, its levels decline with age in several tissues, and oral precursors such as nicotinamide riboside and nicotinamide mononucleotide reliably raise blood NAD+ in human trials. The therapies directory covers that research in the NAD+ precursor supplementation entry.

The leap from that biology to an intravenous drip sold for anti-aging is where the evidence runs out. Human trials of oral precursors are small and their functional outcomes are mixed. Controlled human data on intravenous NAD+ for aging or healthspan are close to nonexistent, and the common experience of flushing, nausea, and chest tightness during the infusion is a dosing artifact rather than a sign of effect. The same pattern holds for vitamin and glutathione drips: they correct deficiencies that most customers do not have, and regulators have sent warning letters to IV clinics over unsupported health claims.

The risk profile is usually modest but not zero. Infusions carry infection and infiltration risks, compounded products vary in quality, and clinics without physician oversight may treat people with kidney disease, heart failure, or drug interactions that make a large fluid or nutrient load unwise. Anyone considering NAD+ for longevity reasons should know that the oral precursor trials are the entire human evidence base, and they do not yet support the claim.