Coenzyme Q10 (Ubiquinone) is a lipid-soluble compound found in the mitochondria of all living cells. It also occurs in the food chain and is endogenously produced in the liver. There are conditions, like CANCER, in which adequate production of CoQlO in the body is impaired, and in such situations supplementation with CoQ10 has been shown to be very beneficial.
CoQlO, being lipid soluble, follows the same pathway as that of fats for its absorption in the body. This involves emulsification in the intestine (with the help of bile salts) and the formation of micelles prior to absorption. Among the other factors affecting the absorption of exogenously administered CoQlO are its particle size, degree of solubilization, and the type of food ingested with the supplement.
CoQ10 is essential to the optimal function of all cell types, it is not surprising to find a seemingly diverse number of disease states which respond favorably to CoQ10 supplementation. All metabolically active tissues are highly sensitive to a deficiency ofCoQ10. CoQ10's function as a free radical scavenger only adds to the protean manifestations of CoQ10 deficiency. Preliminary observations in a wide variety of disease states have already been published.
One of the disease states which has received attention is CANCER. Low levels of CoQ10 in the blood of some cancer patients have been noted (59), but overall, there is little data regarding cancer. The best work to date documents a significant reduction in the cardiac toxicity of the chemotherapy drug, Adriamycin. The cardiac toxicity of Adriamycin and related drugs may well relate to free radical generation and this might explain the benefit of CoQ10 in its capacity as a free radical scavenger. The studies on Adriamycin cardiotoxicity were of short duration and did not specifically note any favorable or detrimental effect on the clinical course of the cancer itself. It is reasonable to assume that optimal nutrition (which would include optimal levels of CoQ10) is generally beneficial in any disease state, including cancer.
Another interesting topic is the relationship between the IMMUNE SYSTEM and CoQ10. Immune function is extraordinarily complex and undoubtedly is influenced by numerous nutritional variables. There are some encouraging preliminary data from the study of AIDS patients. End stage AIDS, like other overwhelming illnesses, has been associated with a significant deficiency in CoQ10. Regarding AIDS and cancer, it would be foolish to make premature statements about future utility of CoQ10, but it is even more foolish to ignore the importance of adequate CoQ10 levels in these disease states. Adequate CoQ10 supplementation (with close attention to plasma CoQ10 levels) is analogous to adequate hydration, and any treatment of critically ill patients should not ignore this easily measured and correctable deficiency.
The antioxidant or free radical quenching properties of CoQ10 serve to greatly reduce oxidative damage to tissues as well as significantly inhibit the oxidation of LDL cholesterol (much more efficiently than vitamin. This has great implications in the treatment of ischemia and reperfusion injury as well as the potential for slowing the development of atherosclerosis. In keeping with the free radical theory of aging, these antioxidant properties of CoQ10 have clear implications in the slowing of aging and age related degenerative diseases. There is epidemiologic evidence in humans that uniformly shows a gradual decline in CoQ10 levels after the age of twenty.
Until recently, attention has been focused on requirements for CoQ10 in energy conversion in the mitochondrial compartment of cells or on the antioxidant properties of CoQ10. New evidence shows that CoQ10 is present in other cell membranes. In the outer membrane it may contribute to the control of cell growth, especially in lymphocytes (the implications are far reaching. The clinical experience with CoQ10 in heart failure is nothing short of dramatic, and it is reasonable to believe that the entire field of medicine should be re-evaluated in light of this growing knowledge. We have only scratched the surface of the biomedical and clinical applications of CoQ10 and the associated fields of bioenergetics and free radical chemistry.
At HOPE4CANCER INSTITUTE, we have found synergistic beneficial anti-cancer effects when giving PolyMVA Intravenously at the same administration time as oral CoQ 10 gel.
