Preclinical Evaluation of Water-Soluble Coenzyme Q10 for Therapeutic Treatment of Parkinson's Disease
Abstract
Parkinson's disease is a common neurodegenerative disorder resulting from progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta region of the midbrain. Mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress are major contributors to this disease. Currently there is no treatment to halt the progression of Parkinson's disease; there are only drugs for symptomatic relief. Previously, prophylactic treatment with a water-soluble formulation of coenzyme Q
10 was shown to reduce the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra and ameliorate symptoms in a paraquat-induced rat model of Parkinson's disease. In this work, delivery of CoQ
10 by the water-soluble formulation shows increased bioavailability in various rat tissues, including the brain. Also observed is a decrease in the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra by therapeutic water-soluble CoQ
10 supplementation in a rat model. Hence, this formulation of CoQ
10 may be used to slow or halt the progression of Parkinson's disease.