COQ10
by Richard M. Delany, M.D., FACC
CoQ10 is a powerful, fat-soluble, vitamin-like substance found naturally in all forms of animal life. It is synthesized in the membranes of cells in humans and is vital to the production of energy. It is the power plant of the body that is found in most cells, with especially high concentration in the heart, the organ that requires high levels of energy for normal operation. In addition, it is a potent antioxidant, similar to vitamin E. In its pure form, CoQ10 is a yellow-orange, tasteless, crystalline powder.
Coenzyme Q10 (2,3,
dimethoxy-5-methyl-6
decaprenyl-1, 4-benzoquinone)
was isolated
from cardiac mitochondria
by Dr. F. Crane et al. in the U.S. in 1957
and its chemical structure was determined by
Dr. K. Folkers et al. in 1958. Coenzyme Q10
is also known as “ubiquinone,” a name
derived from the word ubiquitous, meaning
“everywhere.”
Despite the fact that it has been around
for almost 50 years, COQ10 is still new to
many people. However it is now one of the
fastest-selling specialty supplements in the
United States—with domestic consumer
sales estimated at $250 million in 2002.
Everyone from athletes seeking greater
stamina to people with high blood pressure
to those with various forms of heart disease
have begun taking COQ10. The question is
why?
 COQ10 is the spark plug that ignites the
body’s engine by jump starting energy production
within all cells. The body then uses
that energy to fuel all its vital processes,
including muscle contraction and digestion.
Therefore, the presence of COQ10 in the
body is essential to the sustaining of life.
Without an adequate supply of COQ10, the
body cannot maintain normal levels of
activity nor can it ward off or fight health disorders.
A quarter of a century of clinical
testing has shown that COQ10 is effective in
increasing energy levels, in treating heart diseases,
in enhancing the immune system, in
reversing periodontal disease, in providing
antioxidant activity and in preventing certain
side effects of common drugs.
COQ10 supplements have been consumed
by millions of people for nearly 30 years
without serious adverse effects. That is
because COQ10 exists naturally in the human
body and consequently there are no adverse
side effects from restoring this vital nutrient
to its normal level. In tests of thousands of
people in Japan, Europe and the United
States over a period of more than 40 years, no
toxicity has ever been shown, no matter how
high the intake amount.
As we grow older, the level of COQ10 in
our bodies decreases. This can be due to several
factors: the inability of the body to produce
or synthesize adequate amounts of
COQ10, an insufficiency of COQ10 in the diet
or the effect of various outside influences
such as stress or disease. Low levels of COQ10
have been reported in people with heart
failure, cardiomyopathy, gingivitis, hypertension,
muscular dystrophy, diabetes and
AIDS, as well as in people on kidney dialysis,
undergoing chemotherapy and people taking
statins. Therefore, those who wish to boost
their level of energy and their general level of
wellness should consider taking daily supplements
of COQ10. Also, people who suffer
from risk factors of any of the above diseases
or conditions should raise their COQ10 levels
as soon as possible.
Because COQ10 supplies cells with more
natural energy, COQ10 enhances stamina and
improves the body’s overall state of health
and wellness. It also protects against free radicals,
strengthens the immune system and
fosters greater resistance to disease. In
numerous research programs conducted by
Kaneka Corporation of Osaka, Japan, the
world’s leading manufacturer of the coenzyme,
COQ10 has been proven to be a significant
value in alleviating the effects of the
following:
 Heart disease. COQ10 deficiency is common among patients with heart disease.
Clinical studies have shown that COQ10 use
can significantly improve heart muscle function
with no adverse effects or drug interactions.
The use of COQ10 before heart surgery
protects the heart muscle and improves
recovery rates. Angina patients taking 150
mg per day reported a greater ability to exercise
without problems.
A six-year study conducted at the
University of Texas found that patients being
treated for congestive heart failure who took
COQ10 in addition to conventional therapy
had a 75 percent chance of survival after
three years compared with an historical 25
percent survival rate for those using conventional
therapy alone. However congestive
heart failure patients who have shown
improved heart function after supplemental
COQ10 may regress to their baseline function
if their supplemental COQ10 is discontinued
and should consult a physician before taking
any supplements, including COQ10.
COQ10’s antioxidant properties may help
combat the development of arteriosclerosis.
In addition, COQ10 has been shown to
decrease arrhythmia, especially in those who
have undergone heart bypass surgery.
High blood pressure. COQ10 modulates
blood pressure by reducing resistance to
blood flow. Several trials have reported that
supplementation with COQ10 for at least several
months significantly reduced blood pressure
by about 10 mm Hg in people with hypertension.
Cancer. Studies have shown that the
blood levels of COQ10 are much lower in
patients with cancer than they are in people
without cancer. Many patients taking cancer
drugs develop cardiomyopathy. The addition
of COQ10 to the therapy of these patients can
protect the heart muscle against cytotoxicity
and disease from adriamycin.
Aging. Tissue damage can be reduced by
COQ10’s antioxidant and free-radical-quenching
properties. This suggests that COQ10 supplementation
may be of significant value in slowing
aging and in treating certain related degenerative
diseases. Although COQ10 is synthesized naturally
in the body, as we grow older, levels tend
to decrease. This may be because we become
unable to produce an adequate amount of
COQ10 or because of an insufficiency in the
diet or it may be due to the effects of stress and
disease.
HIV. COQ10 is today considered to be of
use in negating opportunistic infections and
other undesirable clinical symptoms associated
with HIV and AIDS.
Muscular dystrophy. People who suffer
from congestive heart failure and muscular
dystrophy have been shown to have COQ10
deficiencies. To date, two double-blind clinical
trials utilizing COQ10 therapy with muscular
dystrophy patients have proven successful.
Multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease.
Because COQ10 helps restore the normal
mitochondrial function and reduces free radicals
in the brain, it may be effective in slowing
the progression of both these diseases.
Periodontal disease. People suffering this
chronic inflammatory disease of the gums
exhibit low levels of COQ10. For this reason
COQ10 should be considered in the treatment
of periodontal disease.
Cholesterol, statin drugs and COQ10.
Research shows that the method by which
statin drugs work to block cholesterol also has
the potential to block the production of
COQ10. Since people who take statins may
already suffer from low levels of COQ10, such
added depletion is of great concern. The combined
use of COQ10 and statins, however, can
prevent the depletion of COQ10 and thereby
help to minimize the risk of statin-induced
cardiac dysfunction, liver dysfunction, muscle
weakness, cardiomyopathy and congestive
heart failure.
Statin drugs and muscle aches. Some
people taking statins develop a syndrome of
myalgias (muscle aches) without blood evidence
of actual muscle injury. By pretreating
these people with COQ10 for a month (100-
200 mg daily) and then adding in low doses of
statins while maintaining a daily dose of
COQ10 (100 mg), they are often able to take
the statins without recurrent myalgias.
One noted cardiologist, Peter Langsjoen,
M.D., FACC who has treated thousands of
patients with COQ10 comments, “Most physicians
either don’t know or don’t care about
COQ10. But if it becomes mandatory to take
COQ10 with statins, one of the most widely
prescribed drugs in the world, then everybody’s
going to know about it overnight.”
With the impact of increasing stress
and the continuing growth of
chronic disease on modern life,
the public is becoming more aware of and
turning to the imperative of wellness and
nutritional supplementation. Research evidences
that COQ10 should be considered a cornerstone
of a comprehensive individual
nutrition program, whether an individual is
young or old, healthy or not so healthy.
When supplementing with COQ10 it is
important to understand there are both natural
and synthetic varieties of the ingredient.
Natural COQ10, which is generally accepted as
preferable, is fermented from yeast and is identical
to our body’s own COQ10. Synthetic
COQ10, on the other hand, is chemically
processed using tobacco.
COQ10 is available in capsules and in oilbased
softgel form. Some research supports the
idea that oil-based suspensions of COQ10
absorb better than forms that lack oil. COQ10
is most frequently found in strengths of 30 mg,
50 mg, 60 mg, 100 mg, 120 mg and 200 mg.
According to most medical advice, adult levels
of COQ10 supplementation are 30–100 mg per
day. People with heart conditions often take
100–200 mg per day, with some taking 400 mg
per day. Cancer patients who might consider
taking higher levels should first consult a
doctor. For optimum absorption of COQ10
into the body it is recommended that COQ10
be taken with meals.
In addition to being available as a dietary
supplement in capsules and softgels, COQ10
can be found in toothpaste, skin cream,
mouthwash, chewing gum and oral spray.
Amounts of COQ10 vary by product, as does
bioavailability (the ability of the body to
absorb COQ10).
Cutting edge research.
The following is excerpted from a National
Parkinson Foundation Inc. news release of
February 26, 2003 titled Effects of Coenzyme
Q10 in Early PD: Evidence of Slowing of Other
Functional Decline: “Parkinson disease (PD) is a
degenerative disorder of unknown cause. To
determine whether a range of doses of coenzyme
Q10 is safe and well tolerated and could
slow the progression of PD. This is a multicenter,
randomized, parallel-group, placebocontrolled,
double-blind, dosage-ranging trial.
Eighty patients with early PD who did not
require treatment for their disability were randomly
assigned to placebo or coenzyme Q10 at
dosages of 300, 600 or 1200 mg/day.
“ . . . COQ10 was safe and well tolerated at
doses of up to 1200 mg/day. Less disability
developed in subjects on COQ10 than in those
on placebo and the benefit was greatest in
people receiving the highest dosage. COQ10
appears to slow the progression of PD, but the
results need to be confirmed in a larger study.
“ . . . COQ10 is a natural nutrient, essential
in the production of adenosine triphosphate
(ATP), the carrier for cellular energy. Energy
stored and released from ATP powers all bodily
functions. Although our body makes COQ10
and we get some from certain foods, this may
not be enough to meet our energy needs.
COQ10 levels often decrease during periods of
stress, illness and with age. Certain drugs can
also reduce COQ10 levels. COQ10 is sold as a
nutritional supplement in pharmacies and
health food stores. However, not all COQ10 is
the same: there are different forms of COQ10:
The ‘TRANS’ form was used in the study. The
‘CIS’ form, the most readily available, is
impure, difficult to absorb, but cheaper.”
For further information on the Parkinson
Foundation, visit www.parkinson.org
In response to the dramatic rise in consumption
of COQ10, Kaneka Corporation of
Osaka, Japan has branded its 100 percent natural
(trans-isomer) yeast fermented COQ10
product, Kaneka Q10 and has created the new
Kaneka Functional Foods Division, which has
begun a major initiative to inform consumers
of the benefits of COQ10 both as a dietary supplement
and as a topical agent in health care
products. For additional information on the
broad based health benefits of Kaneka Q10,
visit www.kanekaq10.com
Richard M. Delany, M.D., FACC, a board
certified physician, is the founder of
Personalized Preventive Medicine, a wellness oriented
medical practice specializing in preventative
medicine. Dr. Delany has utilized
COQ10 in his practice for over 15 years for
multiple indications, particularly in relation to
statin drug induced conditions.
|
|
