Coenzyme Q10 & Parkinson's

Coenzyme Q10 slowed the progression of early Parkinson's disease in a study of 80 people who were not yet taking L-dopa for the disorder. Patients who took 1,200 mg of coenzyme Q10 every day for 16 months were less likely to be disabled by the degenerative neurological disease than those who took a placebo. Lower doses (300 or 600 mg a day) were less effective.

Coenzyme Q10, which is made by the body, is safe. Previous studies have found that people with Parkinson's disease have lower coenzyme Q10 levels in their mitochondria, which are the "powerhouses" that produce energy in cells. Coenzyme Q10 may improve the function of mitochondria in Parkinson's patients. In animal studies, coenzyme Q10, which is also an antioxidant, protects the area of the brain that is damaged in Parkinson's.

"This study hasn't yet proven unequivocally that coenzyme Q10 will slow the progression of Parkinson's disease," says study co-author Clifford W. Shults of the University of California at San Diego. "I don't recommend that people spend $1,500 to $2,500 a year on a compound that may eventually turn out to be not effective."

What to do: These results need to be confirmed by further studies. But if you have Parkinson's disease, talk to your doctor about taking coenzyme Q10.

Archives of Neurology 59: 1541, 1523, 2002.

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