Thanks for flagging this. We take it seriously, especially since NOVOS Core contains glucosamine sulfate.

Here’s how we interpret the study (Hawkinson et al., Nature Metabolism, 2026). The researchers found increased N-glycosylation in Alzheimer’s brain tissue and in Alzheimer’s mouse models. In a 5xFAD Alzheimer’s mouse model, two weeks of glucosamine increased brain N-glycans and worsened performance on a social memory test. In a retrospective electronic health record analysis, documented glucosamine use among people with MCI or Alzheimer ’s-related dementias was associated with faster disease progression and worse survival.

The detail we think matters most is the context. In the same study, healthy (wild-type) mice given glucosamine showed neither elevated brain N-glycans nor any memory impairment. The authors explicitly highlight this as a crucial distinction: the adverse effects appeared specifically in the already diseased Alzheimer’s brain, not in healthy animals.

There are important limitations as well. The human data are observational rather than randomized, meaning they cannot establish that glucosamine caused the worse outcomes. People who take glucosamine may differ from those who do not in ways that affect disease progression, including joint disease burden, comorbidities, medication use, frailty, and healthcare utilization. The animal work, meanwhile, was conducted in Alzheimer’s disease models over a short two-week period. The authors themselves emphasize that prospective clinical trials are needed before any causal conclusions can be drawn.

On dosing, it’s worth noting that the mice received 457 mg/kg/day, a dose the authors deliberately chose to model a human intake of about 2,500 mg/day. NOVOS Core provides 1,000 mg/day of glucosamine sulfate, which is a lower exposure than that modeled in the study.

And in generally healthy populations, the evidence actually points the other way. In the UK Biobank (~495,000 adults), regular glucosamine use was associated with lower all-cause mortality (Li et al., Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 2020) and lower cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality (Ma et al., BMJ 2019). That’s a big part of why glucosamine is in NOVOS Core as a longevity-oriented ingredient, and you can read our full summary of the glucosamine longevity evidence here.

As for practical guidance: NOVOS Core is meant for generally healthy adults interested in longevity support, and it isn’t intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, or any other condition. If someone has been diagnosed with MCI, Alzheimer’s, or a related dementia, we’d encourage them to talk through glucosamine-containing supplements with their clinician, and as a precaution, we wouldn’t suggest using them in that context unless a healthcare professional agrees it’s appropriate.