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Coenzyme Q10 may benefit patients with PAH
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Coenzyme Q10 supplementation improved hemoglobin and red cell maturation in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension, which could confer clinical benefit, according to findings in a new study.
Based on prior studies showing that coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) improved cardiac function in patients with HF because of effects on the mitochondria, researchers hypothesized that CoQ10 could improve mitochondrial functions in patients with PAH, which could lead to beneficial clinical outcomes. The findings were published in Redox Biology, a journal of the Society for Free Radical Biology and Medicine.
The small prospective study included eight patients with PAH and seven healthy controls who received CoQ10 100 mg three times daily for 12 weeks.
Jacqueline Sharp
“We had been seeing a lot of recent publications on metabolic dysfunction and the [PAH] population, and we thought that because the CoQ10 supplement is easily tolerated, it might be a good supplement to try,” Jacqueline Sharp, CNP, of the Respiratory Institute and the Heart and Vascular Institute at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, told Cardiology Today. “A lot of the medicines for this population are difficult to take and tolerate. CoQ10 has very minor side effects.”
At 12 weeks, CoQ10 levels increased in patients with PAH more than in controls, and patients with PAH had a tendency to a higher reduced-to-oxidized CoQ ratio compared with controls.
Hemoglobin increased and red cell distribution width decreased in patients with PAH, which is consistent with improved mitochondrial synthetic function, according to the researchers. In controls, the results indicated that hemoglobin declined slightly and red cell distribution width did not change.
“What we found in this small population were some definite changes on the echocardiogram, where there was better right heart function, and positive changes in the complete blood count,” Sharp told Cardiology Today. “We think a larger trial involving all types of pulmonary hypertension, a longer period of time and a greater number of subjects is warranted.” – by Erik Swain
Jacqueline Sharp, CNP, can be reached at Cleveland Clinic, 9500 Euclid Ave., A90, Cleveland, OH 44195; email: pylej@ccf.org.
Disclosure: Sharp reports no relevant financial disclosures.
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