title: Combined statin/coenzyme Q10 as adjunctive treatment of chronic heart failure.
abstract: Statins and coenzyme Q10 are both used as adjuncts in the treatment of chronic heart failure (CHF) due to their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, respectively. And both have been variously shown to improve cardiac function in patients with CHF. The two agents interact in two ways; statins inhibit coenzyme Q10 synthesis through inhibition of HMG-CoA reductase, the rate limiting step in cholesterol synthesis, also shared by coenzyme Q10. Secondly, they both exhibit their antioxidant effects through activation of the enzyme superoxide dismutase, the rate limiting step in nitric oxide metabolism and main antioxidant mechanism of coenzyme Q10. We hypothesize that the interaction between statins and coenzyme Q10 is more than just a replacement, but a synergistic interaction on superoxide dismutase that could result in better cardiac function, improvement in patient symptoms, shortening of duration of hospital stay and improvement in patient quality of life.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, 238 Jiefang Road, 430060 Wuhan City, China. emmkol@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Emmy
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Okello
authors.forename: Xuejun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Salim
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mohamed
authors.forename: Qinyan
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008955:Models, Cardiovascular; D014451:Ubiquinone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*
chemical_list: D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D014451:Ubiquinone; C024989:coenzyme Q10