Curr Med Chem 2003 Oct;10(19):1917-21
Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, LaJolla, CA 92093-0662, USA
Coenzyme Q(10) (ubiquinone), which serves as the electron acceptor for complexes I and II of the mitochondrial electron transport chain and also acts as an antioxidant, has the potential to be a beneficial agent in neurodegenerative diseases in which there is impaired mitochondrial function and/or excessive oxidative damage. Substantial data have accumulated to implicate these processes in the pathogenesis in certain neuro degenerative disorders,including Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease and Friedreich’s ataxia.Although no study to date has unequivocally demonstrated that coenzymeQ(10) can slow the progression of a neurodegenerative disease, recentclinical trials in these three disorders suggest that supplemental coenzymeQ(10) can slow the functional decline in these disorders, particularly Parkinson’s disease.