CoQ10 Found to Benefit Patients with Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS)

Have you heard of one of the latest supplements to boom called CoQ10? Coenzyme Q10, also known as CoQ10, is a vitamin-like substance your body makes, and you may have heard of it before. You need CoQ10 for cell growth and maintenance as well as cell protection, digestion, and other basic body processes, but that isn’t all. Emerging research shows it may have value as a supplement in treating neurodegenerative diseases like ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) as well.

Many scientists have “guinea pigs” for tests and experiments, but one Japanese scientist put his own life or treatment on the line to determine just what, if any, effects CoQ10 would have on his recent ALS diagnosis.

ALS stands for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and is usually called Lou Gehrig’s disease – a name given after a former Yankee baseball player named Lou Gehrig died from it. The disease is a quickly progressing neurodegenerative disease that may begin as twitching and cramping while ending with complete lack of muscle control. The life expectancy once diagnosed is somewhere between 2 and 5 years.

CoQ10 Aiding Lou Gehrig’s Disease

The Japanese scientist, whose age is not revealed in the subsequent research, asked his colleagues to treat him with CoQ10 after living five years with the disease. He was 70 years old at diagnosis and 75 when treatment began. By that time, the disease was beginning to take its toll.

His CoQ10 supplement regimen began with 200 milligrams twice daily for 4 weeks, raised to 500 milligrams twice daily, and then decreased back to 200 milligrams twice daily. Even in the first round of 200 milligram dosing, the scientist saw notable improvements. His voluntary muscle activity and his grip returned and his weakness lessened. The findings were reported in The Open Nutraceuticals Journal.

The summary concluded with:

“The marked improvements this patient experienced are promising and offer hope that treatment with highly solubilized ubiquinol may benefit patients with ALS. Additional research is needed and warranted to confirm these findings.”

If CoQ10 could restore some of the neurological and nerve damage done by this disease, could it show promise for other similar neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s? We don’t yet know.

Of course this research was very limited, with only one subject. However, it could offer promise for future studies and a closer look at the coenzyme and its potential uses.

Additional Sources:

Webmd