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Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)
A meta-analysis by Soja and Mortensen reported a significant improvement in stroke volume, ejection fraction, cardiac output, cardiac index, and end-diastolic volume index, as a result of coenzyme Q10 supplementation. (34)
Sander et al authored a meta-analysis of 11 studies with CoQ10 doses ranging from 60 to 200 mg/day and treatment periods ranging from 1 to 6 months and reported a 3.7% net improvement in the ejection fraction and an average increase in cardiac output of 0.28 L/min (33).
Molyneux, SL et al studied 236 heart failure patients at the average age of 77 for 5.75 years and found that 39% with coenzyme Q10 levels under 0.63 mcg per ml died, compared with only 22% of subjects with higher levels translating to a 67% higher risk of mortality and the author believed coenzyme Q10 levels were an independent predictor of survival (19).
Coenzyme Q10 and coronary artery disease (CAD):
Yalcin et al. found that concentrations in patients with CAD and healthy individuals were found to be 0.41 and 0.77 micromol/l, respectively (p < 0.01) and that CAD patient had a lower coenzyme Q10 to low density lipoprotein ratio (20).
Coenzyme Q10 at a dose of 120 mg per day for 28 days in 73 patients with acute myocardial infarction resulted in a lower number of cardiac events including cardiac related death and nonfatal heart attack (15% vs 30.9%), ischemia related chest pain (9.5 vs 28.1), arrhythmia (9.5% vs. 25.3%), and poor left ventricular function (8.2% vs. 22.5%)(16).
Coenzyme Q10 and breast cancer: Lockwood K et al studied patients with breast cancer (n=32, aged 32-81 yrs) treated with standard therapeutic treatment plus 2850 mg vitamin C, 2,500 IU vitamin E, 32.5 IU ß-carotene, 387 mcg selenium, 1.2 g gamma-linolenic acid, 3.5 g omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil, and 90 mg coenzyme Q10. All 32 patients survived 18 months, none showed further distal metastasis, no weight loss occurred, reduced use of pain killers was noted, and remission was reported in 6 patients. (21)
Coenzyme Q10 and chronic kidney failure (CKD): 21 subjects with CKD on coenzyme Q10 at 60 mg, 3 times daily or placebo for 4 weeks resulted in 36% less participants requiring dialysis, lower creatinine, lower blood urea nitrogen, better creatinine clearance, and higher urine output than the placebo group (22).
Idebenone (synthetic analog of coenzyme Q10) and Alzheimer’s dementia:
A study by Gutzmann and Hadler tested a synthetic form of coenzyme called idebenone Q10 120 mg three times per day in mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease for 24 months which demonstrated significant dose-dependent improvements over the entire 2 years in cognitive testing with the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS) compared to placebo (24)
Another study by Gutzman, found that idebenone had a greater improvement than tacrine in cognitive tests and more patients stopped taking tacrine (35).
It is unclear whether treatment with coenzyme Q10 would compare to treatment with idebenone which is a synthetic drug available by prescription.
de Bustos, F et al found that co-enzyme Q10) levels were similar in Alzheimer’s patients, and patients with vascular dementia when compared to controls (36).
Coenzyme Q10 and Parkinson’s disease:
The response of daily oral application of 360 mg coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) on 28 treated and stable Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients in a 4 week placebo controlled, double-blind trial which found that coenzyme Q10 provided a significant mild symptomatic benefit on PD symptoms and better improvement of FMT performance (23).
Liu, J et al performed a Cochrane Database Systematic Review which included 4 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials with 452 patients and determined that coenzyme Q10 at a dose of 1200 mg daily for 16 weeks improved activities of daily living ADLs) as assessed by the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and Schwab and England scales (a means of assessing ADLs in terms of speed and independence) (37).
Coenzyme Q10 and exercise:
Rosenfeldt F, et al performed a systematic review of the effects of coenzyme Q10 in exercise capacity and found 6 trials which showed improvement of exercise capacity but 5 other different trials showed no benefit (25).
Burke and Deakin found only 1 out of 5 trials in which coenzyme Q10 used for exercise performance improved VO2 max but the remaining studies reviewed showed lack of improvement (26).
Coenzyme Q10 and malignant melanoma: Rusciani found that melanoma patients who developed metastasis had significantly lower levels of coenzyme Q10 levels than patients who did not develop metastasis which may potentially be used to estimate risk of melanoma progression (27).
Coenzyme Q10 and vascular endothelial function: Supplemental coenzyme Q10 resulted in a clinically significant, 1.7% increase in flow-dependent endothelial-mediated dilation (28).
Coenzyme Q10 and cerebellar ataxia: Ataxia due to coenzyme Q10 deficiency may be responsive to coenzyme Q10 supplementation but more research is needed (29).
Coenzyme Q10 and male fertility:
300 mg/day coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) for a period of 26 weeks improved sperm density and motility (30).
Balercia et al. found that 200 mg of CoQ10 twice daily for 6 months increased forward sperm motility from 9-16% after treatment (31).
