Since the 1960???s there have been numerous controlled clinical trials concerning the relationship between congestive heart failure and Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). As its name implies CoQ10 is a coenzyme that is necessary for the proper functioning of other substances, one of the most important of which is ATP (adenosine triphosphate). ATP is necessary for the production of cellular energy. By proxy CoQ10 is likewise essential for this process.
Clinical trials have attempted to study the relationship between CoQ10 and many chronic diseases including, but not limited to, heart disease, cancer and AIDS. But heart disease has gained the most attention; congestive heart failure being one of the primary subjects. Because heart muscle cells require so much energy to function and CoQ10 is at the core of the cellular energy process it makes sense to suspect that congestive heart failure might be linked to CoQ10 deficiency. With that theory in mind many studies like the ones that follow have been conducted. These trials have been presented in this essay in thumbnail format.
One early Japanese trial (1972) involved 197 patients with varying levels of severity of cardiac failure. The study reported significant improvement of cardiac function supplementing with 30 mg per day of CoQ10. Another Japanese study demonstrated similar results with 38 patients also supplementing with 30 mg. In 1985 a U.S. clinical study prescribed daily supplementation with 100 mg of the coenzyme for treatment periods of three months for patients with low ejection fraction measurements. The ejection fraction is the measure of the heart???s ability to pump blood. A low ejection fraction is a classic symptom of congestive heart failure. Again, significant improvements in heart function were reported. Other clinical trials followed prescribing the same level of supplementation with similar results.
Studies in the early 1990s showed improvement for patients suffering from ischemic cardiomyopathy (a low oxygen state usually due to obstruction) with supplemental levels of 200 mg per day. Supplementing with 100 mg per day demonstrated improvement for patients suffering from idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, an enlarged heart syndrome of unknown cause.
One of the largest trials of the 1990s involves 641 patients randomly divided into two groups. The first group received a placebo. The other group received CoQ10 supplements. During the one-year follow-up period 118 patients in the placebo group were hospitalized for heart failure compared to 73 in the group that received the supplements.
All of the preceding trials were relatively short-term studies. The level of improvement among patients varied depending on how long they had been suffering from some aspect of congestive heart failure. Through the years it has become increasing clear that the greatest improvements were shown in patients that had suffered from their condition the least amount of time.
In other words, the longer a person had been suffering from the disease before he or she received CoQ10 treatments the less improvement was demonstrated. People who had received treatments early in the development of the disease showed the most dramatic improvement often returning to normal heart function. Long-term sufferers received less relief and were less likely to return to full heart function. Whatever the reasons for this disparity in health improvement, it demonstrates the importance of receiving treatment as early as possible.
But what about long-term studies? Do they show the same marked improvement with similar treatment? In the short-term trials it was apparent that even high level supplementing with CoQ10 seemed to produce no ill effects. In order to determine if this is only true for short durations a number of long-term studies were conducted.
In 1990 observations were published concerning 126 patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. Unlike previously noted studies this one followed the patients??? progress for six years. Long-term benefits from CoQ10 supplementing were noticed with no harmful side effects. Similar observations were made in a trial involving 2,664 patients treated with CoQ10 at levels up to 150 mg per day.
A 1994 study involving 424 patients with a variety of myocardial (refers to the heart's muscle mass) diseases. Among these conditions were the following: Valvular heart disease (pertaining to dysfunction of heart valves), hypertension, diastolic dysfunction (failure of the heart to properly refill itself with blood), dilated cardiomyopathy (group of disorders where the heart muscle is weakened and enlarged and cannot pump effectively) and ischemic cardiomyopathy (low oxygen state usually due to obstruction of the arterial blood supply).
Patients were treated with an average of 240 mg of CoQ10 daily during their treatment period. They were then followed-up for up to eight years with an average follow-up period of 18 months. Overall results demonstrated measurable cardiac improvements in one month with maximum improvements at about six months. With continued CoQ10 treatment the improvement in most patients was sustained. However, discontinuing the treatment usually resulted in a decline of cardiac function with eventual return to pre-treatment conditions.
As always in the medical community many more studies will need to be conducted to determine the future of CoQ10 treatment. However, the research to date seems to support CoQ10 as a viable treatment for many diseases that are caused or exacerbated by inadequate production of cellular energy.
Greg holds degrees in science, divinity and philosophy and is currently an I.T. developer.
http://www.optimal-heart-health.com/coq10.html
tidy up service Glenview ..At the moment we are in the grip of an... Read More
ZMA is a scientifically designed anabolic mineral formula containing zinc... Read More
A 2002 study reported, funded by the Swiss National Science... Read More
What Is Nitric Oxide (NO)?Nitric oxide (NO) is produced by... Read More
The science of Glycobiology, touted by the Massachusetts Institute of... Read More
Rhodiola rosea is available commercially as a supplement and rhodiola... Read More
There is no doubt that Omega 3's can not only... Read More
In September 2004 Orange County, California published an article "OC... Read More
Everyone has an occasional sleepless night, and this is not... Read More
Most people are becoming more health conscious. Many of the... Read More
The muscles of the body actually depend heavily on the... Read More
1. Do not refrigerate vegetables and fruits (raw and uncut)... Read More
What if there was a solution to protecting and restoring... Read More
L glutamine is an amino acid occurring abundantly within the... Read More
The food is the raw material for the body. Minerals... Read More
BROCCOLI Good Healthy Food, for Natural Healing, Good Health and... Read More
Nutrition Supplement ? nutrition.Nutrition supplement is a term familiar to... Read More
This complex mixture of nutrient-rich growth factors, immunoglobulins, glycoconjugates and... Read More
Many of you are probably aware that The American Medical... Read More
The Greek word "Glyco" means, "Sugar". Most people think of... Read More
The Superbug MRSA which is becoming more common in Hospitals,... Read More
As I have become more involved in using functional nutritional... Read More
At some time or another, most people have taken some... Read More
L-carnitine is synthesized in the body from the amino acids... Read More
The findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and... Read More
full-service cleaning Mundelein ..The body is just mind-bogglingly amazing. I mean, when you... Read More
Iron is a mineral that is essential to the health... Read More
In part one of this series, titled "Take Back Your... Read More
It would seem that everyone is looking to squeeze the... Read More
There is a lot of confusion about weight loss supplementation,... Read More
A naturally occurring compound, L-Glutathione (Tathion,) has demonstrated that it... Read More
It's absolutely crucial that your body gets the nutrients it... Read More
At the present time, one out of ten adults have... Read More
The findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and... Read More
For women, calcium is one of the most important nutrients... Read More
Our system uses a free-form gas called Nitric Oxide as... Read More
Most people believe that they are reasonably healthy. Exercise, having... Read More
A healthier diet is very much in the news these... Read More
L-tyrosine is a non-essential amino acid that plays a role... Read More
The last year hasn't been a good one for vitamin... Read More
Fat Loss Supplement ? what is it?What is a fat... Read More
Health Supplement ? what is it?So what is a health... Read More
Coral Calcium is an excellent source of readily accessible and... Read More
If you're constantly digging your hand into a jar of... Read More
When I first started down this path I was looking... Read More
One of the questions that I frequently get asked is... Read More
At times, due to your busy and fast life, we... Read More
The malabsorptive nature of the gastric bypass system prohibits adequate... Read More
Some fitness adherents are supplement crazy and spend money like... Read More
Are the new Argireline Wrinkle Relaxing Creams as effective as... Read More
Nutritional Supplements |