Tuesday, December 5, 2017

The December 5, 2017 issue of Life Extension Update reports findings from a recent randomized trial that revealed a benefit for supplementation with coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) in participants with diabetic nephropathy, a progressive kidney disease that occurs in approximately 30% of diabetics. "Diabetic nephropathy is associated with several metabolic disorders such as insulin resistance, inflammation, and oxidative stress," authors Tahereh Gholnari and colleagues write. "CoQ10 supplementation due to the effect on glucose metabolism may be useful to control severity of diabetic nepphropathy disease and decrease insulin requirement."

CoQ10 supplementation improves glucose metabolism, oxidative stress and AGEs levels in patients with diabetic kidney disease

A randomized, double-blind trial reported on November 7, 2017 in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition resulted in improvement in aspects of glucose metabolism as well as a decrease in oxidative stress and advanced glycation end products among individuals with diabetic nephropathy (kidney damage caused by diabetes) who received daily supplementation with coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) compared to those who received a placebo.

"Decreased insulin sensitivity and hyperinsulinemia in subjects with chronic renal failure (CRF) are associated with increased cardiovascular risk, hypertriglyceridemia, arterial hypertension, and increased insulin requirement,” Tahereh Gholnari and colleagues write. “Therefore, CoQ10 supplementation due to the effect on glucose metabolism may be useful to control severity of diabetic nepphropathy disease and decrease insulin requirement."

The trial included 50 participants with diabetic nephropathy who received 100 milligrams (mg) CoQ10 per day or a placebo for 12 weeks. Fasting blood samples collected before and after the treatment period were analyzed for serum insulin, hemoglobin A1C, plasma malondialdehyde (MDA, a marker of lipid peroxidation) and advanced glycation end products (AGEs, which are proteins or fats that become glycated during exposure to glucose, which can damage tissue).

At the end of the trial, participants who received CoQ10 had lower serum insulin, less insulin resistance, less oxidative stress as indicated by lower MDA levels, and lower levels of AGEs compared to levels measured before treatment. In contrast, the placebo group failed to experience improvements in these factors.

"We found that CoQ10 supplementation for 12 weeks among diabetic nephropathy patients had favorable effects on glucose metabolism, MDA, and AGEs levels,” the authors conclude. “To our knowledge, this study is the first evaluating the effects of CoQ10 supplementation on metabolic status in subjects with diabetic nephropathy."