summary
CoenzymeQ10 is a cofactor produced by the body that aids in energy production in the Krebs cycle and mitrochondrial electron transport chain. It is converted into the antioxidant ubiquinol following ingestion: Dyslipidemia, High Cholesterol, Current statin use. CoQ10 levels decrease with age and have also been observed to be low in patients with certain disorders (e.g. cardiovascular diseases, diabetes). CoQ10 supplementation has been shown to offset some negative side effects of statin medications. Statins + CoQ10 - HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (lovastatin, pravastatin, rosuvastatin, and simvastatin) decrease the concentration of CoQ10 in the human body.
additional information
Reduction of serum cholesterol levels with statin therapy decreases the risk of coronary heart disease. Inhibition of HMG-CoA reductase by statin results in decreased synthesis of cholesterol and other products downstream of mevalonate, which may produce adverse effects in statin therapy. We studied the reductions of serum ubiquinol-10 and ubiquinone-10 levels in hypercholesterolemic patients treated with atorvastatin. Fourteen patients were treated with 10 mg/day of atorvastatin, and serum lipid, ubiquinol-10 and ubiquinone-10 levels were measured before and after 8 weeks of treatment. Serum total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol levels decreased significantly. All patients showed definite reductions of serum ubiquinol-10 and ubiquinone-10 levels, and mean levels of serum ubiquinol-10 and ubiquinone-10 levels decreased significantly from 0.81 +/- 0.21 to 0.46 +/- 0.10 microg/ml (p < 0.0001), and from 0.10 +/- 0.06 to 0.06 +/- 0.02 microg/ml (p = 0.0008), respectively. Percent reductions of ubiquinol-10 and those of total cholesterol showed a positive correlation (r = 0.627, p = 0.0165). As atorvastatin reduces serum ubiquinol-10 as well as serum cholesterol levels in all patients, it is imperative that physicians are forewarned about the risks associated with ubiquinol-10 depletion.
LINK - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15942122