Cardio-myopathy
CoQ10 treatment improves statin-induced
myopathy
In a double-blind trial reported in the May 15, 2007 issue of The American Journal of Cardiology, Giuseppe Caso, MD, MSc, PhD and colleagues at Stony Brook University in New York administered 100 milligrams coenzyme Q10 per day to 18 men and women with myopathic symptoms resulting from current statin use, and 400 international units vitamin E to another 14 patients with the condition. The groups were similar in age, weight, body mass index, cholesterol levels, and statin drug use. Myopathic pain was evaluated by completion of the Brief Pain Inventory Questionnaire by participants at the beginning of the study and after 30 days of treatment.At the trial’s conclusion, subjects who received coenzyme Q10 had a 40 percent decrease in pain severity and a 38 percent decrease in interference by pain in their daily activities. The group that received vitamin E did not experience improvements. Sixteen of the eighteen participants who received coQ10 reported less pain compared to 3 subjects in the control group. Statin drugs reduce a precursor of cholesterol and coenzyme Q10, which could affect oxidative phosphorylation and mitochondrial ATP production, resulting in mitochondrial energy deficit. Decreased plasma coQ10 during treatment with statin drugs is associated with a higher blood lactate to pyruvate ratio, indicating mitochondrial respiratory system dysfunction. This may result in a reduction of the aerobic capacity of muscle accompanied by increased muscle fatigue. “It can be hypothesized that some of the myopathic symptoms in patients treated with statins may result from partial inability of the mitochondria to supply the ATP needed for muscle contraction because of decreased coenzyme Q10 levels,” the authors write. “Results of the present study showing improvement in myopathic symptoms using coenzyme Q10 supplements supports this hypothesis, suggesting a possible etiologic role of coenzyme Q10 depletion in the pathogenesis of myopathic symptoms in statin-treated subjects.”
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CoQ10
Q-Gel, water soluble