Ubiquinol-10 improves autonomic nervous function and cognitive function in CFS

[AndyPR]

Ubiquinol-10 supplementation improves autonomic nervous function and cognitive function in chronic fatigue syndrome.
Fukuda S1,2,3, Nojima J4, Kajimoto O5, Yamaguti K3,6, Nakatomi Y3,6, Kuratsune H1,3,6, Watanabe Y2,3.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the benefit of oral ubiquinol-10 supplementation in CFS patients using an open-label study and a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled (RCT) study.

Twenty patients with CFS were randomly enrolled in an 8-week open-label oral ubiquinol-10 (150 mg ubiquinol-10/day) study. The patients and the attending physicians were not blinded to the supplementation.

Forty-three patients with CFS were randomly assigned to receive either ubiquinol-10 (150 mg/day) or placebo every day for 12 weeks. The patients and the attending physicians were blinded to the supplementation, and a total of 31 patients (N = 17 in the ubiquinol group and 14 in the placebo group) completed the study.

The beneficial effects of ubiquinol-10 were observed in the open-label study we conducted prior to the RCT. The RCT results suggest that supplementation with ubiquinol-10 for 12 weeks is effective for improving several CFS symptoms. © 2016 BioFactors, 2016.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27125909

 

[charles shepherd]

MEA comment:

Although this supplement is quite often used by people with ME/CFS, there has been no sound evidence from a clinical trial till now to indicate that it could be a safe and effective form of treatment for ME/CFS

General information on co-enzyme Q10:
http://www.medicinenet.com/coenzyme_q10_ubiquinone_ubidecarenone-oral/article.htm

MEA information on co-enzyme Q10 from an MEE Question and Answer below

We also have an MEA information leaflet summarising the evidence for all the 'muscle energy supplements' >>

MEA literature order form:

http://www.meassociation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/MEA-Order-Form-Feb-2016.pdf

QUESTION: Coenzyme Q10 – does it work?


My nutritionist has advised me to start taking a supplement called coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) which, she says, will boost my energy levels. So what is CoQ10 and is this claim correct? Are there any side-effects? And can I take it with prescription only medicines?


ANSWER


Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), which is also known as ubiquinone, is often referred to as a vitamin. However, this isn't strictly true as it is made in the liver from an amino acid called tyrosine. CoQ10 is also present in a wide variety of foods. So deficiency can occur as a result of reduced dietary intake, decreased production, or increased usage - or a combination of all three.


CoQ10 is known as a coenzyme because it helps other enzymes in the body to carry out their normal functions. In relation to muscle fatigue, it is involved in energy producing chemical pathways inside the mitochondria - parts of the cell where energy in the form of a chemical called ATP is produced. It also has antioxidant activity. So there are clearly some theoretical reasons why CoQ10 might be helpful in ME/CFS.


However, despite all the claims being made for CoQ10, there is very little scientific evidence linking deficiency with disease. Neither is there much evidence of benefit in diseases where it is sometimes recommended such as heart failure, mitochondrial muscle diseases, and Parkinson's disease (where decreased levels have been found in the spinal fluid). The same situation applies to ME/CFS.


As far as side effects are concerned, CoQ10 is normally well tolerated with no serious side-effects. But it has not been properly assessed in pregnancy.


One important note of caution relates to its use with statins - prescription only drugs used for lowering blood cholesterol levels. Statins can lower the levels of CoQ10, and it has been suggested that this could make people more liable to develop statin-induced myopathy (muscle damage). This is a well recognised side-effect of statins, and is something that is occasionally reported by people with ME/CFS. So there may be a case for taking CoQ10 if you have ME/CFS and are also taking a statin. It has also been reported that CoQ10 can interfere with anticoagulants (blood thinning drugs such as warfarin) at high doses.


Overall, CoQ10 is a supplement that may be worth a try - bearing in mind that reports of benefit are speculative rather than scientifically proven.

Dr Charles Shepherd
Hon Medical Adviser, MEA

 

[Marky90]

Any objective tests? And what is "effective"?

Don`t have paper acess..

 

[charles shepherd]

Any objective tests? And what is "effective"?

Don`t have paper acess..

Yes, I would like to know as well. Don't yet have the full paper……..

 

[aimossy]

I find this interesting because I tried supplementing with this and did not tolerate it well at all. They state in the abstract:

"The RCT results suggest that supplementation with ubiquinol-10 for 12 weeks is effective for improving several CFS symptoms."

 

[Hip]

"The RCT results suggest that supplementation with ubiquinol-10 for 12 weeks is effective for improving several CFS symptoms."

I'd be interested in knowing which particular ME/CFS symptoms Q10 improves (in addition to cognition and autonomic function — I am sure there must be other symptoms which were imporved). The full paper does not yet seem to be available on Sci-Hub (the main Sci-Hub website is currently down, but they can be reached on http://sci-hub.cc).

There was a small previous study that looked at Q10 for ME/CFS patients.

 

[deleder2k]

Speaking of:

http://no.iherb.com/California-Gold-Nutrition-CoQ10-100-mg-30-Veggie-Softgels/61073

87% off

 

[Hip]

There are also some very good deals on bulk Q10 powder on aliexpress.com (which is a sort of Chinese eBay). Typically around $200 for 500 grams of 98% Q10 powder.


For comparison purposes, Q10 ubiquinone powder bought at purebulk.com costs around $29 for 25 grams, and $202 for 250 grams.

 

[Hip]

It's worth mentioning that some forum members found high doses (1000 mg or so) of Q10 effective in preventing PEM: after a bout of physical exercise that would normally cause a major PEM episode, a high dose of Q10 prevented the PEM from manifesting. See these threads:

Did I just slam the door on a PEM episode?!
How much CoQ10 do you take?


I included Q10 in this list of PEM preventing supplements ("PEM Busters").

 

[deleder2k]

How safe is it to buy supplements from China..?

 

[Hip]

How safe is it to buy supplements from China..?

I have read that some Chinese herbal supplements can have high levels of mercury, but I don't think that applies to pharmaceutically-produced products, such as Q10.

 

[deleder2k]

Okay, thanks. I think I'll stick with iHerb's 87% price cut

 

[Hip]

I am currently using a batch of Chinese Q10 powder bought on Aliexpress, and it has the nicest, smoothest taste out of all the Q10 powders that I have tried over the years, including Q10 powers I bought from people such as Now Foods supplements. So from the taste it seems good.

 

[greeneagledown]

The abstract is pretty thin. If anyone has access to the full paper, I'd love to know a) what kind of p-values we're talking about here, and b) the practical magnitude of the improvement.

 

[Little Bluestem]

Is Ubiquinol-10 any different than the ubiquinol currently available in supplements?

 

[Mij]

@Little Bluestem from this abstract it appears to be the same.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2352956

 

[Dolphin]

I'd be interested in knowing which particular ME/CFS symptoms Q10 improves (in addition to cognition and autonomic function — I am sure there must be other symptoms which were imporved). The full paper does not yet seem to be available on Sci-Hub (the main Sci-Hub website is currently down, but they can be reached on http://sci-hub.cc).

I have heard it is available there now.

 

[Dolphin]

The p-values are close to .05 but at the same time the sample size in the study is quite small so harder to get statistically significant results. It's a pity they don't give all the data i.e. for the results that were not statistically significant.

 

[Dolphin]

Approximately 95% of the patients had significantly lower total plasma ubiquinol levels (0.6660.23) as compared to the reference data (0.8–0.9)(vs. 0.8, t=-6.55, df518, p<0.001, vs. 0.9, t=-9.22, df518, p<0.001). [24,28]

 

[Dolphin]

Moreover, the plasma ubiquinone levels were notably lower in the patients without any lifetime psychiatric
disorders (i.e., no association with psychiatric disorders [N=13]=0.07 +/- 0.06 vs. association with psychiatric disorders
[N=6]=0.17 +/- 0.09; Z=-2.20, p=0.03).