Does Dietary Coenzyme Q10 + Selenium Supplementation Ameliorate Clinical Outcomes by Modulating Oxidative Stress & Inflammation., 2022, Castro-Marrero

Full title: Does Dietary Coenzyme Q10 plus Selenium Supplementation Ameliorate Clinical Outcomes by Modulating Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in Individuals with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a neuroinflammatory, multifaceted chronic disorder of unknown cause. Accumulating data indicates a link between a redox imbalance, mitochondrial dysfunction, and inflammation status in ME/CFS. CoQ10 and selenium as effective antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents have shown potential clinical implications in chronic diseases; however, their therapeutic benefits on ME/CFS remain elusive. This open-label exploratory study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of combined CoQ10 plus selenium supplementation on clinical features and circulating biomarkers in ME/CFS.

Twenty-seven ME/CFS patients received an oral combination of 400 mg of CoQ10 and 200 µg of selenium daily for 8-weeks. The primary endpoint was patient-reported changes in outcome measures from baseline to 8 weeks post-intervention. Secondary endpoint included changes in circulating biomarkers from baseline to each participant. After an 8-week intervention, a significant improvement was found for overall fatigue severity (p = 0.021) and global quality of life (p = 0.002), while there was no significant effect on the sleep disturbances (p = 0.480) among participants. After 8-weeks’ intervention, there was significantly increased total antioxidant capacity, and there were reduced lipoperoxides levels from the participants (p < 0.0001 for both). Circulating cytokine levels decreased significantly (p < 0.01 for all), but with no significant changes on the CRP, FGF21, and NT-proBNP biomarkers after supplementation. Based on these findings, we hypothesized that long-term supplementation of combined CoQ10 and selenium may indicate a potentially beneficial synergistic effect in ME/CFS.

Paywall, https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/ars.2022.0018

 

Not seen the article (behind paywall), but I hope they conclude that nothing can be concluded in such a small scale open labelled trial other than they have demonstrated a full double blinded trial would be feasible.

 

It would be interesting, and perhaps progress to know what body systems these supplements are acting on.

Some pwME say CoQ10 helps with energy.

 

It can make your heart beat harder and make you feel wired-up if you take it for too long.