Monday 27 May 2013

Is Coenzyme Q10 a supplement or a drug? It all depends.

This is the molecular structure of Coenzyme Q10.
Ubiquinone
I saw the following Tweet by Evelyn Kocur. Back in October 2009, a trial was started, to test the effect of CoQ10 supplementation on congestive heart failure (CHF). See Coenzyme Q10; an adjunctive therapy for congestive heart failure? See also Overview on coenzyme Q10 as adjunctive therapy in chronic heart failure. Rationale, design and end-points of "Q-symbio"--a multinational trial.

The results of that trial have just been made public, but are not yet available on PubMed. See First Drug to Significantly Improve Heart Failure Mortality in Over a Decade. Wait, what? Back in 2009, it was a supplement. Now, because it works, it's a drug.

Supplementation in meaningful amounts of a substance that the body needs but lacks makes the body work better. Who knew?

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