coQ10

This Patient Advocate has been reading about co-Q-10 recently. So many of these CFS topics come in and out of focus, almost on a rotational basis. There are so many shifting elements to this disease. (Recently Dr. Paul Cheney gave the impression that taking coQ10 might be counterproductive. This was after years of using it on CFS patients.)

My daughter's coQ10 levels were low in a Biolab test in November 2008. Was the coQ low because the specimen was degraded on the long flight across the Atlantic Ocean? Is this test accurate? Do the results have any relevance? Is there a treatment? There is some evidence that supplementing with coQ10 can raise the levels in the tissue of people who are deficient in coQ10. Is my patient not taking the right kind of coQ or the right amount?

This PA gets the sense that coQ10 is important for a variety of functions, particularly mitochondrial and brain function. Dr. Myhill believes that higher coQ10 blood levels are helpful to mitochondrial function.

What is a good coQ10? The PA learns in reading that there are two types of coQ - ubiquinol and ubiqinone. Each are touted as the real deal.

Information is available online. Here is a recent article with Dr. Judy:
http://www.alternativehealthjournal.com/article/ubiquinol_and_ubiquinone_what_s_the_difference_and_why_should_we_care/2740

Dr. Stephen Sinatra promotes the use of coQ10 in combination with the carnitines, d-Ribose and magnesium.

A good place to start reading is:
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/othernuts/coq10/

The PA reads about the various versions of coQ and lands on two that his patient will use in an effort to raise her blood levels of co-Q. The first is a capsule ubiquinone called CoQMax CF, by Xymogen, and the second is Liquid QH™
Liposomal Ubiquinol CoQ10.

Coincidentally a study just came out in July 2009 from Dr. Maes observing that coQ in low in CFS patients: MAES M.:July, 2009. Co-enzyme Q10 deficiency in myalgic encephalomyelitis

It was helpful to this Patient Advocate to read this study and this study substantiates the idea that going further down this line could be beneficial.

Now the Patient Advocate will find out about testing for coQ10.