Research, Health Benefits and Side effects…

1. What is Coenzyme Q10?

Coenzyme Q10 (also known as Co Q10, CoQ10 vitamin supplement, ubiquinone, or ubidecarenone) is a compound that is made naturally in the body. A CO Q10 enzyme is a substance needed for the proper functioning of an enzyme, a protein that speeds up the rate at which chemical reactions take place in the body. The Q and the 10 in coenzyme Q10 refer to parts of the compound’s chemical structure.

Coenzyme Q10 is used by cells to produce energy needed for cell growth and maintenance. CO Q10 is also used by the body as an antioxidant. An antioxidant is a substance that protects cells from chemicals called free radicals. Free radicals are highly reactive chemicals that can damage important parts of cells, including deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). (DNA is a molecule inside cells that carries genetic information and passes it from one generation to the next.) This damage may play a role in the development of cancer.

CoQ10 is found in most body tissues. The highest amounts are found in the heart, liver, kidneys, and pancreas. The lowest amounts are found in the lungs. Tissue levels of coenzyme Q10 decrease as people get older.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF COMBINING COQ10 AND L-CARNITINE Supplements?… CoQ10 plus L-Carnitine syrnergy supplement

Supplement Dosage Directions for use:

Take one or two CoQ10 plus L-Carnitine capsules daily with a meal. Best absorbed if the meal that contains good fats. Well absorbed if taken with an oil such as cod liver oil or flaxseed oil.

2. What is the history of the discovery and use of CoQ10 as a complementary or alternative treatment for cancer?

Coenzyme Q10 was first identified in 1957. Its chemical structure was determined in 1958. Interest in coenzyme Q10 as a potential treatment for cancer began in 1961, when a deficiency of the enzyme was noted in the blood of cancer patients. Low blood levels of coenzyme Q10 have been found in patients with mycelia, lymphoma, and cancers of the breast, lung, prostate, pancreas, colon, kidney, and head and neck.

Studies have yielded information about how CoQ10 works in the body to produce energy and act as an antioxidant. Some studies have suggested that coenzyme Q10 stimulates the immune system and increases resistance to disease. In part because of this, researchers have theorized that Co Q10 may be useful as an adjuvant therapy for cancer. (Adjuvant therapy is treatment given following the primary treatment to enhance the effectiveness of the primary treatment.)

3. Co Q10 Dosage?

Proper dosage for Coenzyme Q10 is usually taken by mouth as a pill (CoQ10 vitamin supplement complex). It may also be given by injection into a vein (IV). In animal studies, coenzyme Q10 is given by injection.

4. Have any preclinical (laboratory and animal) studies been conducted using coenzyme Q10?

Laboratory studies of Coq10 have focused on describing its chemical structure and how it works in the body. Animal studies have found that coenzyme Q10 stimulated the immune system and increased resistance to disease. Coq10 helped to protect the hearts of animals given the anticancer drug doxorubicin, which can cause damage to the heart muscle. Pet health dog cats taking coq10…

5. Have any clinical trials (research studies in humans) been conducted with co Q10?

The promising results from animal studies of Coq10 and the anticancer drug doxorubicin led researchers to test coenzyme Q10 in a randomized clinical trial with 20 patients. (A randomized clinical trial is a study in which the participants are assigned by chance to separate groups that compare different treatments; neither the researchers nor the participants can choose which group.) The researchers examined whether coenzyme Q10 would protect the heart from the damage caused by doxorubicin. The results of this trial and others have confirmed that coenzyme Q10 decreases the effects of doxorubicin on the heart. However, no report of a randomized clinical trial of co Q10 as a treatment for cancer has been published in a peer-reviewed, scientific journal.

6. Have other studies of co Q10 been conducted in people?

Three other small studies were conducted using coenzyme Q10 as a dietary supplement in patients undergoing conventional cancer treatment. In these studies, the researchers explored the potential use of coenzyme Q10 as an adjuvant therapy for cancer.

The first study, which was conducted in Denmark, involved 32 breast cancer patients. All of the participants received coenzyme Q10 and several other dietary supplements, in addition to their standard treatment. Six of the patients were reported to show some signs of remission (disappearance of the signs and symptoms of cancer). However, the data were not complete, and information that suggested remission was presented for only three of the six patients. All of the participants reported decreased use of painkillers, improved quality of life, and absence of weight loss during treatment.

? In a follow up study, one new patient and one of the patients who had a reported remission were treated with high doses of Coq10 for 3 to 4 months. Both of the patients had breast cancer remaining after surgery. After the period of high-dose coenzyme Q10 supplementation, both patients appeared to experience complete regression (decrease in the size or extent) of their remaining cancer. However, it is not known which of the six patients with a reported remission in the first study took part in the followup study.

? In a third study conducted by the same researchers, three breast cancer patients were given high-dose coenzyme Q10 and followed for 3 to 5 years. One patient had complete remission of cancer that had spread to the liver, another had remission of cancer that had spread to the chest wall, and the third had no evidence of breast cancer remaining after surgery.

There have also been anecdotal reports that coenzyme Q10 has increased the survival of patients with cancers of the pancreas, lung, colon, rectum, and prostate. (Anecdotal reports are incomplete descriptions of the medical and treatment history of one or more patients.) The patients described in these reports also received treatments other than coenzyme Q10, including chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery.

7. Have any side effects or risks been reported from coenzyme Q10?

No serious side effects have been reported from the use of coenzyme Q10. Some patients using CoQ10 have experienced mild insomnia (inability to sleep), elevated levels of liver enzymes, rashes, nausea, and upper abdominal pain. Other reported side effects have included dizziness, visual sensitivity to light, irritability, headache, heartburn, and fatigue.

Patients should talk with their health care provider about possible interactions between coenzyme Q10 and prescription drugs they may be taking. Certain drugs, such as those that are used to lower cholesterol or blood sugar levels, may reduce the effects of CoQ10. Coenzyme Q10 may also alter the body?s response to warfarin (a drug that prevents the blood from clotting) and insulin.

8. Are there any other potential drawbacks to taking coenzyme Q10?

As noted in question 1, coenzyme Q10 is used by the body as an antioxidant. Antioxidants protect cells from free radicals, which are highly reactive chemicals that can damage cells. Some conventional cancer therapies, such as anticancer drugs and radiation treatment, kill cancer cells in part by causing free radicals to form. Researchers are studying whether using coenzyme Q10 along with conventional therapies is positive (i.e., does not interfere with the effects of the conventional therapies, or increases the therapies? beneficial effects on cancer cells while protecting normal cells) or negative (i.e., interferes with the therapeutic effects).

Study Suggests Coenzyme Q10 Slows Functional Decline in Parkinson’s Disease

Results of the first placebo-controlled, multicenter clinical trial of the compound CoQ10 suggest that it can slow disease progression in patients with early-stage Parkinson’s Disease(PD). While the results must be confirmed in a larger study, they provide hope that this compound may ultimately provide a new way of treating Parkinson’s Disease. The phase II study, led by Clifford Shults, M.D., of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine, looked at a total of 80 PD patients at 10 centers across the country to determine if coenzyme Q10 is safe and if it can slow the rate of functional decline. The study was funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and appears in the October 15, 2002, issue of the Archives of Neurology1. “This trial suggested that coenzyme Q10 can slow the rate of deterioration in Parkinson’s disease,” says Dr. Shults. “However, before the compound is used widely, the results need to be confirmed in a larger group of patients.”

Parkinson’s Disease is a chronic, progressive neurological disease that affects about 500,000 people in the United States. It results from the loss of brain cells that produce the neurotransmitter dopamine and causes tremor, stiffness of the limbs and trunk, impaired balance and coordination, and slowing of movements. Patients also sometimes develop other symptoms, including difficulty swallowing, disturbed sleep, and emotional problems. PD usually affects people over the age of 50, but it can affect younger people as well. While levodopa and other drugs can ease the symptoms of PD, none of the current treatments has been shown to slow the course of the disease.

The investigators believe CoQ10 works by improving the function of mitochondria, the “powerhouses” that produce energy in cells. Coenzyme Q10 is an important link in the chain of chemical reactions that produces this energy. It also is a potent antioxidant ? a chemical that “mops up” potentially harmful chemicals generated during normal metabolism. Previous studies carried out by Dr. Shults, Richard Haas, M.D., of UCSD and Flint Beal, M.D., of Cornell University have shown that CoQ10 levels in mitochondria from PD patients are reduced and that mitochondrial function in these patients is impaired. Animal studies have shown that coenzyme Q10 can protect the area of the brain that is damaged in Parkinson’s Disease. Dr. Shults and colleagues also conducted a pilot study with Parkinson’s Disease patients which showed that consumption of up to 800 mg/day of coenzyme Q10 was well-tolerated and significantly increased the level of coenzyme Q10 in the blood.

All of the patients who took part in the new study had the three primary features of Parkinson’s Disease ? tremor, stiffness, and slowed movements ? and had been diagnosed with the disease within 5 years of the time they were enrolled. After an initial screening and baseline blood tests, the patients were randomly divided into four groups. Three of the groups received coenzyme Q10 at three different doses (300 mg/day, 600 mg/day, and 1,200 mg/day), along with vitamin E, while a fourth group received a matching placebo that contained vitamin E alone. Each participant received a clinical evaluation 1 month later and every 4 months for a total of 16 months or until the investigator determined that the patient needed treatment with levodopa. None of the participants or the study investigators knew which treatment each patient had received until the study ended. The investigators found that most side effects of coenzyme Q10 were mild, and none of the patients required a reduction of their dose. The percentage of people receiving CoQ10 who reported side effects was not significantly different from that of the placebo group. During the study period, the group that received the largest dose of coenzyme Q10 (1,200 mg/day) had 44 percent less decline in mental function, motor (movement) function, and ability to carry out activities of daily living, such as feeding or dressing themselves. The greatest effect was on activities of daily living. The groups that received 300 mg/day and 600 mg/day developed slightly less disability than the placebo group, but the effects were less than those in the group that received the highest dosage of coenzyme Q10.

The groups that received CoQ10 also had significant increases in the level of coenzyme Q10 in their blood and a significant increase in energy-producing reactions within their mitochondria.

The results of this study suggest that doses of coenzyme Q10 as high as 1,200 mg/day are safe and may be more effective than lower doses, says Dr. Shults. The findings are consistent with those of a recently published study of patients with early Huntington’s disease ? another degenerative neurological disorder ? that showed slightly less functional decline in groups that received 600 mg/day of coenzyme Q10.

Other CoQ10 Health Benefits

Coezyme Q10 – CoQ10 Migraine Prevention Research

A recent three month open label trial of some 30 subjects with a history of episodic migraine headaches, resulted in the conclusion that Coenzyme Q10 – CoQ10 appeared to be a good for migraine prevention. Of the patients who completed the study, over 60% of the patients had more than 50% reduction in the number of days with migraine headaches.

In this migraine headache test, all participants knew that they were taking Coenzyme CoQ10. There were no adverse side-effects with the use of coenzyme Q10.