Discovered by researchers at the University of Wisconsin in 1957, Coenzyme -Q10 (CoQ10), also known as ubiquinone, is a powerful antioxidant .Its name comes from the word ubiquitous, which means "found everywhere." Indeed, CoQ10 is found in every cell in the body. This fat-soluble, vitamin-like, enzyme is more abundant in some cells and organs than in others. It tends to congregate in the organs, which need the most energy, especially the heart, brain and liver.

The primary function of CoQ10 is to provide cellular energy. In each cell there are organelles (small organ cells) known as mitochondria. Mitochondria are similar to a car’s cylinders. They allow a chain of chemical reactions to create a spark, which generates 95 percent of the body’s energy. CoQ10 is the spark that helps ignite adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the molecule that serves as the cell’s major energy source. Low, or deficient levels of CoQ10 create lowered cellular and bodily energy. A decrease in bodily energy causes a decrease in various systems of the body including brain function (brain fog, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s), nerve transmission (tingling, numbness, pain), muscle function (achy muscles), immune function (depressed number of immune boosting cells), heart and blood vessel function (MVP, irregular heart beat, high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, congestive heart failure), as well as over all metabolism (weight gain, depression, and fatigue).

The body can’t manufacture CoQ10; instead we must obtain CoQ10 from the foods we eat. Meat, dairy and certain vegetables including spinach, and broccoli, contain the highest concentrations of CoQ10. However, obtaining adequate amounts of CoQ10 through diet alone poses a real challenge. It would take one pound of sardines, or two-and-a-half pounds of peanuts, to provide about 30mg of CoQ10. This is at the very minimum of the recommended daily allowance. In reality, the typical daily intake of CoQ10 from dietary sources is only about 3-5 mg per day. This paltry amount isn't anywhere near the level required to significantly raise blood and tissue levels.

And the fact that we tend to absorb and utilize less as we age increases the risk of developing a CoQ10 deficiency. Researchers estimate that as little as a 25 percent decline in bodily CoQ10 will initiate several disease states including high blood pressure, heart disease, fatigue, cancer, and immune dysfunction.

What’s more, the biosynthesis of CoQ10 from the amino acid tyrosine is a complex, highly vulnerable 17-step process. It requires at least seven vitamins (vitamin B2, vitamin B3, vitamin B6, folic acid, vitamin B12, vitamin C, and B5) and several trace elements. Most American diets are deficient in at least one, if not all of the cofactors for making CoQ10; seventy one percent are deficient in vitamin B-6 alone.

Dr Karl Folkers, who has been honored with the Priestly Medal, the highest award bestowed by the American Chemical Society, for his work with CoQ10, believes that suboptimal nutrient intake in man is almost universal and these deficiencies prevent the biosynthesis of CoQ1O. He suggests that since the average or "normal" levels of CoQ10 are really suboptimal, the very low levels observed in advanced disease states represent only the tip of a deficiency. Unless we are supplementing with CoQ10, we may be in fact, suffering from a CoQ10 deficiency. Given the added stress posed in today’s society and the need for an ever increasing amount of antioxidants to counter this stress, could it be that many, if not all of our chronic illnesses, are due to suboptimal levels of CoQ10?

We know that a CoQ10 deficiency can cause muscle weakness, nerve damage (neuropathy), back pain, inflammation of tendons and ligaments, hypertension, heart disease, angina, accelerated aging, certain cancers, and various neurodegenerative diseases.

The cardiovascular system is especially vulnerable to CoQ10 deficiencies. The heart consume huge amounts of CoQ10 initiated ATP. The muscles of the heart contract and relax some 100,000 times a day and pumps blood through 60,000 miles of arteries and veins with each beat.

Dr. Folkers reports, "cardiovascular disease may be significantly caused by a deficiency of CoQ10. I believe it is quite possible that cardiovascular disease may be significantly caused by a deficiency of CoQ10. CoQ10 is known to be deficient in congestive heart failure (CHF), with the degree of deficiency in blood and cardiac tissue correlating with the severity of the CHF."

The results of using CoQ10 in treating cardiovascular related illnesses can be quite dramatic as the studies sited below illustrate.

A group of class IV (terminal) CHF patients were supplemented with CoQ10 in addition to their prescription medications. Normally, class IV patients live only a matter of days. Seventy one percent of those taking the CoQ10 survived one year and 62 percent survived 2 years!

Administering CoQ10 (50-150 mg daily) for 90 days to 2,664 patients with CHF resulted in the following symptomatic and clinical improvements: cyanosis (bluish skin color), 78.1%; edema, 78.6%; pulmonary crackle, 77.8%; dyspnea (poor breathing), 52.7%; palpitations, 75.4%; sweating, 79.8%; arrhythmia (irregular heart beats), 63.4%; and vertigo, 73.1%.

CoQ10 significantly improves diastolic and systolic pressure in essential hypertension. Studies show that taking 100-225mg of CoQ10 a day reduces blood systolic blood pressure by an average of 15 points and diastolic pressure by 10 points. And more than half of patients receiving 225 mg/day were able to terminate use of from one and three antihypertensive medications.

Mitral valve prolapse is a common condition associated with a heart murmur. It is often asymptomatic but can produce chest pain, arrhythmia, or leakage of the valve, leading to congestive heart disease. One study showed that when children with mitral valve prolapse received CoQ10 (2 mg/kg a day) for 8 weeks, heart function returned to normal in seven of the eight children; none of the placebo-treated patients improved. Relapse was common among those who stopped taking the medication within 12-17 months but rarely occurred in those who took CoQ10 for 19 months or more.

In diabetes, which several of the same characteristics of cardiovascular disease, CoQ10 has proven itself to be a valuable therapy for restoring normal blood sugar levels. CoQ10 has been shown to lower fasting blood glucose levels by 31 percent, while destructive ketone- bodies were reduced by a whopping 51 percent.

Even the common symptom of heart disease, chest pain, is no match for CQ10 therapy. Compared to placebo, CoQ10 was shown to reduce the frequency of angina or chest pain by 53 percent.

The benefits of CoQ10 in the treatment of cardiovascular disease are indisputable; CoQ10 should be the first line of therapy for anyone suffering from cardiovascular disease.

Several studies have demonstrated effectiveness of coenzyme Q10 in reducing the frequency of migraine headaches. A clinical trial of 31 patients reported a significant reduction in the average number of days with migraine after three months of treatment. Migraine frequency also fell significantly, from 4.85 attacks to 2.81. The administered dose was 150 mg daily.

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 42 patients compared coenzyme Q10 at 100 mg three times a day with placebo. Participants were randomized to either placebo or coenzyme Q10 for three months. Coenzyme Q10 significantly decreased migraine attack frequency by at least 50 percent in 47.6 percent of patients, compared with 14.4 percent of patients on placebo. In addition, coenzyme Q10 seemed to decrease headache days and days with nausea better than placebo.

CoQ10 inhibits the production of histamine, a known allergic stimulant.

It has also been shown to be helpful in reducing the symptoms and attacks associated with asthma.

A study of 20 female patients with CFS (who required bed rest following mild exercise), revealed that 80 percent were deficient in CoQ10. After three months of CoQ10 supplementation (100 mg/day), the exercise tolerance of the CFS patients more than doubled: 90 percent had reduction or disappearance of clinical symptoms, and 85 percent had decreased post-exercise fatigue.

In a University of Iowa study, CoQ10 proved to be the leading therapy for CFS, with 69 percent of patients saying it was helpful.

Psoriasis is a serious medical condition that does not always respond to conventional corticosteroid therapy. High dose coenzyme Q10 appears to be an effective therapy against psoriasis. It works by improving the immune profile of the skin.

At the prestigious University of California at San Diego, eighty patients with early Parkinson’s disease who did not yet require treatment for their condition were randomly assigned to receive 300 mg, 600 mg, or 1200 mg of CoQ10 daily, or a placebo. At the end of the trial, patients who received the largest dose of CoQ10 demonstrated an impressive 44% slower rate of decline compared to the placebo group. All subjects who received CoQ10 experienced less disability than did the placebo group, and the benefits were greatest in the 1200-mg group.

Scientists believe that along with slowing the progression of Parkinson’s disease, CoQ10 may hold promise in preventing or managing other neurological conditions related to impaired energy production and oxidative stress, such as Huntington’s disease, Friedrich’s ataxia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and Alzheimer’s disease.

Research now suggests that CoQ10 may help prevent prostate cancer. CoQ10 likewise appears to be beneficial to cancer patients who are undergoing or have completed a course of chemotherapy.

In an important laboratory study from Spain, CoQ10 dramatically altered the growth of malignant human prostate cells without adversely affecting the growth of non-malignant prostate cells. This led the Spanish research team to propose that CoQ10 may be an important preventive therapy for prostate cancer.

Scientists are finding that low levels of CoQ10 are associated with an increased risk of developing melanoma. In a study published last year, Italian researchers discovered that 117 melanoma patients had abnormally low CoQ10 levels compared to 125 study participants who were free of the cancer. CoQ10 levels also were significantly lower in melanoma patients who developed metastases than in metastasis-free patients.

Yet, incredibly, the common drugs used to cardio related drugs, actually deplete CoQ10. Theses drugs include:

Beta-blockers-Toprol, Tenormin, Coreg, Lopressor, Inderal, and others.

Vasodilators- hydralazine.

Thiazide diuretics- Aldactazide, Diuril, Dyazide, Moduretic, HydroDiuril, Micozide, and others.

Centrally-active hypertensives- Clonidine or Catapres, Aldoril, and Methyldopa.

Lipid-lowering (cholesterol drugs) or statins-Lipitor, Crestor, Zocor, Mevacor, Vytorin, and others.

Anti-diabetic sulfonylureas drugs-Acetohexamides, Amaryl, Diabenese, Diabeta, Glucatrol, Micronase, Glyburide and Tolazamide.

Tricyclic antidepressants-Elavil, Trazadone, Doxepin, Pamelor, and others.

Could it be that patients with cardiovascular-related illnesses actually accelerate their illness by taking these medications? Could the rise of statins and other popular cardio drugs including Beta-blockers, which deprive the heart of CoQ10, be the reason for the increase in hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and congestive heart failure (CHF)?

And just as important, could these medications be causing or contributing to the chronic pain, fatigue, immune dysfunction, migraines, brain fog, hypertension, CHF, and or neuropathy symptoms that you may be experiencing? My experience suggests that they often do cause or contribute to the over all poor health of the patients I see, especially the complicated" medical misfits" who’ve tried everything, numerous doctors and drugs, yet still don’t feel well. Maybe we should be treating CoQ10 deficiencies instead of covering-up symptoms with medications that may be making the symptoms in the first place?

From:  Dr. Rodger Murphree, TreatingandBeating.com  

See also:    CoQ10