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Can coenzyme Q10 help with Parkinson's? It depends

By Astrid Pujari, M.D.
Special to The Seattle Times
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi...&date=20080113

Q: I heard that coenzyme Q10 might help with Parkinson's disease. Is that true?

A: Coenzyme Q10 is like a vitamin, though it doesn't officially meet all the criteria. It's found in almost all cells, especially in tissues that have high energy requirements, such as the heart and liver. That's because one of its functions is to help the little factories in cells known as "mitochondria" make energy. It also acts as an antioxidant, and to stabilize cell membranes.

People don't really know all the reasons Parkinson's disease develops. But one of the theories is that people with Parkinson's may have dysfunctional mitochondria, which makes it harder for their brains to produce enough energy, and may lead to damage in certain nerve cells. Supplementing with coenzyme Q10 may give these mitochondria the boost they need to make energy efficiently again.

One well-designed study published in 2002 found that people with early Parkinson's disease who took coenzyme Q10 had less functional decline than people who didn't. The effects seemed to be dose-dependent, and those who took 1,200 mg per day seemed to have the best results.

The caveat here is that even though the study was well-designed, it was still relatively small because it only included 80 people. Also, keep in mind that we are talking about early Parkinson's here; none of the participants were taking levodopa yet, which is the standard conventional treatment for this problem.

On the other hand, another well-designed study found that people with midstage Parkinson's had no benefit from taking 300 milligrams of coenzyme Q10 per day.

There are two issues with this study, though. One is that they used a special type of nanoparticular coenzyme Q10 known as Nanoquinon. We don't know if these people might have done better if they were on the commonly available form of coenzyme Q10. In addition, these participants were midstage, so they were already taking conventional medication for their Parkinson's, which may have made their disease harder to treat.

Coenzyme Q10 is usually well-tolerated. The downside is that it can be expensive, especially at the doses used in the studies above. As usual, I always recommend you talk to your doctor before taking any supplement.

Dr. Astrid Pujari is a Seattle M.D. with an additional degree as a medical herbalist; she practices at the Pujari Center and teaches as part of the residency programs at Virginia Mason and Swedish/Cherry Hill hospitals. Send questions to apujari@seattletimes.com for possible use in future columns. All information is intended for education and not a substitute for medical advice. Consult your doctor before following any suggestions given here.