Therapeutic effects of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) and reduced CoQ10 in the MPTP model of Parkinsonism

Coenzyme Q(10) (CoQ(10)) is a promising agent for neuroprotection in neurodegenerative diseases. We tested the effects of various doses of two formulations of CoQ(10) in food and found that administration in the diet resulted in significant protection against loss of dopamine (DA), which was accompanied by a marked increase in plasma concentrations of CoQ(10). We further investigated the neuroprotective effects of CoQ(10), reduced CoQ(10) (ubiquinol), and CoQ(10) emulsions in the (MPTP) model of Parkinson's disease (PD). We found neuroprotection against MPTP induced loss of DA using both CoQ(10), and reduced CoQ(10), which produced the largest increases in plasma concentrations. Lastly, we administered CoQ(10) in the diet to test its effects in a chronic MPTP model induced by administration of MPTP by Alzet pump for 1 month. We found neuroprotective effects against DA depletion, loss of tyrosine hydroxylase neurons and induction of alpha-synuclein inclusions in the substantia nigra pars compacta. The finding that CoQ(10) is effective in a chronic dosing model of MPTP toxicity, is of particular interest, as this may be more relevant to PD. These results provide further evidence that administration of CoQ(10) is a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of PD.