[Coenzyme Q10: contractile dysfunction of the myocardial cell and metabolic therapy]

Coenzyme Q10, a mitoquinone involved in mitochondrial energy synthesis and the removal of free radicals, may be lacking in a number of cardiac pathologies leading to reduced contractile activity. The administration of exogenous coenzyme Q10 may help to improve contractile activity. In order to assess this hypothesis 63 patients suffering from altered myocardial contractile function (29 dilated cardiopathies, 15 valvular cardiopathies, 19 ischemic cardiopathies) which presented a NYHA class above 2 were selected. The study was open and patients were subdivided into two groups, one of which received conventional therapy alone whereas the other also received exogenous coenzyme Q10. After 4 months of follow-up clinical (NYHA class, effort tolerance) and echocardiographical (ventricular diameter and contraction fraction %) parameters were evaluated. In those patients treated with coenzyme Q10 and suffering from dilated cardiomyopathy a significant reduction in the NYHA class and a marked improvement in echocardiographic parameters were observed at the end of this period. The variations observed in other groups of patients treated were less conspicuous and not always statistically significant. The results of this study confirm that the association of coenzyme Q10 and conventional therapy may lad to a marked improvement in contractile function and correlated clinical conditions.