Please use your web browser to print this page for doctor consultation. Our doctor’s did not approve of CO-Q10 use until I showed them the medical studies regarding this supplement. This page contains medical study excerpts for your doctor. Nothing in this article advocates self medicating while under medical care.

CoQ10 What Is It?

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is produced by the human body and is necessary for the basic functioning of cells. CoQ10 levels are reported to decrease with age and to be low in patients with some chronic diseases such as heart conditions, muscular dystrophies, Parkinson’s disease, cancer, diabetes, and HIV/AIDS. Some prescription drugs may also lower CoQ10 levels. [1]

Our Story

Kayla has to take a chemotherapy drug named Doxorubicin. It is medically known that this chemotherapy drug can cause heart damage and because of this side effect, Kayla gets heart tests done every third treatment of Doxorubicin. (See photo.) This really scared me and is the reason why I started to search for answers directly related to the heart and heart protection. Below is some of the information that I found on CoQ10. I took this same information to our oncologist and received approval for Kayla to be able to take it on a daily basis. Thus far in Kayla’s treatment there has been no indication of any heart damage from the Doxorubicin and, with only one round left to go, things look promising. Kayla will continue to take this supplement for many years as alkylating chemos are known to cause heart disease years later.

Honestly, I am one of those people that has to know I am doing everything in my power to help my daughter get through her treatment with as little lasting damage as possible. I did not know if the CoQ10 would work but anything that indicated the possibility was good enough for me.

Cancer by itself is debilitating and the treatment time can be prolonged. It is a bit of a catch 22 in that chemotherapy is killing cancer cells while at the same time killing regular cells as well. My whole plan of attack has been to find natural things (vitamins, good diet, exercise, fun things, etc.) that help keep my daughter’s body strong despite intensive treatment.

CoQ10 has been studied extensively under many different circumstances, i.e., heart, cancer, fatigue, dialysis, palsy, to name a few. Most studies have found favorable responses for the use of CoQ10.

Study Excerpts

CoQ10 has come to be widely used as a dietary supplement, and daily intake of it has increased in recent years. CoQ10 is produced in all living organisms and is an essential coenzyme for energy synthesis in the mitochondria (energy production in cells) and an important scavenger of reactive oxygen species. The study conducted with CoQ10 and eleven healthy males aged 26 years. The subjects took CoQ10 before during and after exercise. These results suggested that CoQ10 may increase fat oxidation with augmented autonomic nervous activity during low intensity exercise. [2]

This pilot study accords with published data suggesting that CoQ10 therapy improves cardiac functional status in patients with moderately severe dilated cardiomyopathy (a disease of the heart muscle that causes it to lose its pumping strength) receiving maximal non beta-blocker therapy. Future multicentre studies with larger numbers are indicated. [3]

CONCLUSION: Oral administration of coenzyme Q10 improved subjective fatigue sensation and physical performance during fatigue-inducing workload trials and might prevent unfavorable conditions as a result of physical fatigue. [4]

These results provide further evidence that administration of CoQ10 is a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of Parkinsons Disease. [5]

How This May Apply To You

Coenzyme Q10 is a vitamin-like substance that is present in the cells of all mammals and plays an important role in the cells energy-producing mitochondria (the part in the cell responsible for energy production and also a small amount of DNA). It is a potent antioxidant and its declining tissue concentration may contribute to the aging process and to the progress of degenerative diseases. Because the heart has very high metabolic activity it requires large amounts of CoQ10. In Japan, CoQ10 is routinely used as a treatment in cardiac care, particularly for congestive heart failure and cardiomyopathy. In studies done in Europe, CoQ10 has been used to successfully reduce chemotherapy induced heart damage. More recently it has been studied as a significant part of cancer treatment as an antioxidant agent that may affect tumor growth in cancer patients.

At the Comprehensive Cancer Care Conference, Dr. Richard Willis of the University of Texas reported on work done by himself and by Dr. Carl Folkers, among others. In one remarkable uncontrolled clinical study done in Denmark 32 node-positive breast cancer patients were treated with conventional therapy and with 90 mg per day of CoQ10 plus other supplements. All these patients survived at least 24 months, a period of time in which it was expected that 6 would die. Partial tumor regression was observed in 6 patients. Two of these people were later given 300 to 400 mg of CoQ10 a day and complete remissions followed. Several more studies on individual patients were done using similarly high doses of CoQ10 with similar results.

These results may be due partly to the antioxidant effect of CoQ10, or perhaps an immune-enhancing effect to which recent research points. There is no evidence to indicate CoQ10 interferes with conventional treatment; indeed, it has been successfully used to mitigate the cardiotoxicity of chemotherapy. No toxicity has been observed using CoQ10 itself, even at very high doses.

As Dr. Willis said, the data are promising, and the investigation continues, but only case studies have been published. Randomized clinical trials have not been completed. The evidence available is strong enough so that some clinicians and many patients are using CoQ10 as an adjunctive therapy. We recommend it as well.

From the book Comprehensive Cancer Care by Dr. James Gordon and Sharon Curtin.

This book is available through http://www.amazon.com/Comprehensive-Cancer-Care-Complementary-Conventional/dp/0738204862/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254868463&sr=1-1

Comprehensive Cancer Care is the BEST cancer book on the market and I use it all the time. Every cancer patient should own this book!

Side Effects

Physically people are very different. What helps one person may have a detrimental affect on another. Here are some side effects that could indicate not taking this supplement. These are typically mild and brief. Skin itching, rash, nausea, stomach upset, vomiting, insomnia, headache, dizziness, itching irritability, and fatigue.

“As part of a safety evaluation of Coenzyme Q10 a subchronic toxicology study was conducted. Coenzyme Q10 was repeatedly administered orally to male and female rats at daily dose levels of 300, 600 and 1200 mg/kg for 13 weeks. Neither death nor any toxicological signs were observed in any group during the administration period. No change related to the test substance administered was observed in any group with regard to body weight, food consumption, ophthalmoscopy, hematology, blood biochemistry, necropsy, organ weights or histopathology. Based on these results, the non-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) of Coenzyme Q10 was considered to be 1200 mg/kg/day for male and female rats under these study conditions.” [6] PLEASE NOTE THAT 1200 MGS IS A VERY HIGH DOSE AND NOT RECOMMENDED. PER COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CARE 200 TO 400 MGS WAS A SUCCESSFUL HIGH DOSE. THIS INFORMATION IS HERE FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY!

With any supplement, herb, or medication, anyone can have an allergic reaction. NEVER start with any supplement on a high dose. Take a low dose and watch for any reaction. Any self-medication, supplementation, must be coordinated and approved with your doctor first. Mega doses are not recommended under any circumstances unless doctor recommended. We have personally found that with cancer a small dose goes a long way.

Doctor Approval

There are literally hundreds of cancers. There are also numerous different chemotherapy drugs. Most patients end up having to take other medications on top of their chemotherapy, to alleviate other symptoms of their treatment. The result is an unlimited number of drug combinations. This is why anyone wanting to supplement their care must coordinate with their doctor.

Where to Get CoQ10

Puritans Pride is a website that has very good prices on CoQ10. The web link is http://www.puritan.com/coenzyme-q-10-055

Wal-Mart has very good prices and sales of CoQ10.

A doctor recommended Rice Bran Oil capsules as a form of CO-Q10 as a more affordable option.

~

References:

2. J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 2008 Aug;54(4):286-90. Influence of CoQ10 on Autonomic Nervous Activity and Energy Metabolism during Exercise in Healthy Subjects. Zheng A, Moritani T. PMID: 18797149 [PubMed – in process]

3. Heart Lung Circ. 2003;12(3):135-41. Randomised double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of coenzyme Q, therapy in class II and III systolic heart failure. Keogh A, Fenton S, Leslie C, Aboyoun C, Macdonald P, Zhao YC, Bailey M, Rosenfeldt F. Heart Failure Unit, St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney, Australia.

4. Nutrition. 2008 Apr;24(4):293-9. Epub 2008 Feb 13. Erratum in: Nutrition. 2008 Jun;24(6):616. Antifatigue effects of coenzyme Q10 during physical fatigue. Mizuno K, Tanaka M, Nozaki S, Mizuma H, Ataka S, Tahara T, Sugino T, Shirai T, Kajimoto Y, Kuratsune H, Kajimoto O, Watanabe Y. Department of Physiology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.

5. 2008 Mar;104(6):1613-21. Epub 2007 Oct 31. Therapeutic effects of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) and reduced CoQ10 in the MPTP model of Parkinsonism. Cleren C, Yang L, Lorenzo B, Calingasan NY, Schomer A, Sireci A, Wille EJ, Beal MF. Department of Neurology and Neuroscience, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, New York 10021, USA.

6. J Toxicol Sci. 2007 Oct;32(4):437-48. Thirteen-week repeated dose oral toxicity study of coenzyme Q10 in rats. Honda K, Tominaga S, Oshikata T, Kamiya K, Hamamura M, Kawasaki T, Wakigawa K.