COQ10

What is Coenzyme Q10  ?

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), also known as ubiquinone, is a naturally occurring anti-oxidant compound and is used for energy production within cells. It's manufactured in the heart, liver, kidney and pancreas. The body normally produces sufficient CoQ10, although some medications such as statins may interfere with this process and CoQ10 levels in the body may decline with age and heart disease.

Statins

The statin drugs, also known as HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, are the most popular and powerful medications for improving cholesterol profile. They work by interfering with HMG-CoA reductase, an enzyme necessary for the body's manufacture of cholesterol.

Drugs in this statin family include:

·        Atorvastatin calcium (Lipitor)

·        Fluvastatin (Lescol)

·        Lovastatin (Mevacor)

·        Pravastatin (Pravachol)

·        Simvastatin (Zocor)

·        Rosuvastatin (Crestor)

CoQ10 from food

Only small amounts of CoQ10 are available from food, mainly beef and chicken. Consequently, dietary supplements are the most common way to increase the body's CoQ10 levels.

What CoQ10 does:

Taken orally, coenzyme Q10 may help treat congestive heart failure, a disease in which the heart doesn't adequately maintain circulation. CoQ10's role in cell energy production may be the mechanism by which it assists the heart. CoQ10 may help prevent migraine headaches, reduce the likelihood of more heart problems in some people who've had a first heart attack, and delay the progression of Parkinson's disease. CoQ10 may also be useful in treating diseases including muscular dystrophy, AIDS, hypertension, and mitochondrial encephalomyopathies. There is recent evidence that it may increase sperm motility. CoQ10 might help reverse side effects experienced by people who have taken "statin" drugs to lower high cholesterol.  
 
 

COQ10 Supplementation

Could supplements possibly be helpful if you take statin drugs?

Statin drugs inhibit the enzyme necessary for the body's synthesis of both cholesterol and CoQ 10, and as an inevitable part of their mechanism of action, reduce CoQ 10 levels in the body.  Since these drugs are used to protect the heart, and since CoQ 10 deficiency could in theory impair heart function, it has been suggested that this side effect may work against the intended purpose of taking statins. Furthermore, one might naturally hypothesize that some of the side effects of statins could be caused by this induced CoQ 10 deficiency. Taking CoQ 10 supplements does prevent the lowering of CoQ 10 levels caused by statin drugs and accomplishes this without interfering with their therapeutic effects. However, studies designed to determine whether the use of CoQ 10 supplements actually offers any benefit to people taking statins have returned inconsistent results at best. The most recent of these studies, for example, a relatively large double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 44 people, failed to find that use of CoQ 10 at a dose of 200 mg daily reduced the side effects of simvastatin.

Tips for Supplementing COQ10:

You should know that no government agency is responsible for routinely testing CoQ10 supplements or other dietary supplements for their contents or quality. My-Nutrition-Coach.com trusts the independent supplement rating agency ConsumerLab.com to research and report on supplements.  ConsumerLab.com recently evaluated CoQ10 products to determine whether they contained the amounts of CoQ10 stated on their labels.

For the full Consumerlab report on CoQ10 :

To purchase the Consumerlab.com approved COQ10 supplement we suggest for best price, purity and service go to:  Puritan's Pride for COQ10

Resources for this article:

Mortensen SA, Leth A, Agner E, et al. Dose-related decrease of serum coenzyme Q ₁₀ during treatment with HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors. Mol Aspects Med. 1997;18(suppl):S137-S144.

Ghirlanda G, Oradei A, Manto A, et al. Evidence of plasma CoQ ₁₀ -lowering effect by HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. J Clin Pharmacol. 1993;33:226-229.

Mortensen SA, Vadhanavikit S, Muratsu K, et al. Coenzyme Q ₁₀: clinical benefits with biochemical correlates suggesting a scientific breakthrough in the management of chronic heart failure. Int J Tissue React. 1990;12:155-162.

Mortensen SA, Leth A, Agner E, et al. Dose-related decrease of serum coenzyme Q ₁₀ during treatment with HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors. Mol Aspects Med. 1997;18(suppl):S137-S144.

Ghirlanda G, Oradei A, Manto A, et al. Evidence of plasma CoQ ₁₀ -lowering effect by HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. J Clin Pharmacol. 1993;33:226-229.

Folkers K, Langsjoen P, Willis R, et al. Lovastatin decreases coenzyme Q levels in humans. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 1990;87:8931-8934.

Folkers K, Langsjoen P, Willis R, et al. Lovastatin decreases coenzyme Q levels in humans. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 1990;87:8931-8934.

Bargossi AM, Battino M, Gaddi A, et al. Exogenous CoQ ₁₀ preserves plasma ubiquinone levels in patients treated with 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors. Int J Clin Lab Res. 1994;24:171-176.

Durrington PN, Bhatnagar D, Mackness MI, et al. An omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid concentrate administered for one year decreased triglycerides in simvastatin treated patients with coronary heart disease and persisting hypertriglyceridaemia. Heart. 2001;85:544-548.

Sugimoto Ki K, Ohmori M, Tsuruoka S, et al. Different effects of St John's Wort on the pharmacokinetics of simvastatin and pravastatin. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2001;70:518-524.

Jacobson TA, Amorosa LF. Combination therapy with fluvastatin and niacin in hypercholesterolemia: a preliminary report on safety. Am J Cardiol. 1994;73:25D-29D.

Kashyap ML, Evans R, Simmons PD, et al. New combination niacin/statin formulation shows pronounced effects on major lipoproteins and is well tolerated. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2000;35(suppl A):326.

Wolfe ML, Vartanian SF, Ross JL, et al. Safety and effectiveness of Niaspan when added sequentially to a statin for treatment of dyslipidemia. Am J Cardiol. 2001;87:476-479.

Wink J, Giacoppe G, King J. Effect of very-low-dose niacin on high-density lipoprotein in patients undergoing long-term statin therapy. Am Heart J. 2002;143:514-518.

Stocker R, Pollicino C, Gay CA et al. Neither plasma coenzyme Q(10) concentration, nor its decline during pravastatin therapy, is linked to recurrent cardiovascular disease events: A prospective case-control study from the LIPID study. Atherosclerosis. 2005 Oct 8. [Epub ahead of print]

Sorokin AV, Duncan B, Panetta R, Thompson PD. Rhabdomyolysis associated with pomegranate juice consumption. Am J Cardiol. 2006;98:705-706.

Meyer BJ, Hammervold T, Rustan AC, et al. Dose-dependent effects of docosahexaenoic acid supplementation on blood lipids in statin-treated hyperlipidaemic subjects. Lipids. 2007;42:109-115.

Marcoff L, Thompson PD. The role of coenzyme Q ₁₀ in statin-associated myopathy: a systematic review. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2007;49:2231-2237.

Mabuchi H, Nohara A, Kobayashi J, et al. Effects of CoQ ₁₀ supplementation on plasma lipoprotein lipid, CoQ ₁₀ and liver and muscle enzyme levels in hypercholesterolemic patients treated with atorvastatin: A randomized double-blind study. Atherosclerosis. 2007 Aug 4.