title: Does high-dose coenzyme Q10 improve oxidative damage and clinical outcomes in Parkinson's disease?
abstract: Evidence on the efficacy of high-dose coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) in Parkinson's disease (PD) is conflicting. An open-label dose-escalation study was performed to examine the effects of CoQ10 on biomarkers of oxidative damage and clinical outcomes in 16 subjects with early idiopathic PD. Each dose (400, 800, 1200, and 2400 mg/day) was consumed daily for 2 weeks. High-dose CoQ10 was well tolerated and improvements in the total Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (median, 37 vs. 27; p=0.048) were observed following study completion. Plasma F2-isoprostanes (adjusted for arachidonate) were significantly reduced in the 400-1200 mg/day dose range, but increased at 2400 mg/day dosage. A similar pattern of change was observed with serum phospholipase A2 activities. Levels of plasma all trans-retinol, plasma total tocopherol, serum uric acid, and serum total cholesterol were unchanged despite an increase in the CoQ10 dosage. Subjects with symptomatic benefits from CoQ10 (decrease in total UPDRS >10 points) had lower baseline plasma ubiquinol (p=0.07, Mann-Whitney U test) and decreased F2-isoprostanes per unit arachidonate (p=0.04, Wilcoxon Signed-Ranks test). These results lead to the hypothesis that the therapeutic response to CoQ10 depends on baseline levels of ubiquinol and whether the dosage of CoQ10 used can ameliorate the burden of oxidative damage.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore , Singapore, Singapore .
authors.forename: Raymond Chee-Seong
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Seet
authors.forename: Erle C H
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: June J H
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Amy M L
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Quek
authors.forename: Adeline W L
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Chow
authors.forename: Wan-Ling
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Chong
authors.forename: Mary P E
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.forename: Choon-Nam
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Ong
authors.forename: Barry
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Halliwell
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects*; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014451:Ubiquinone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D014451:Ubiquinone; C024989:coenzyme Q10