Q-Symbio - Pioneering a New Biological Treatment

On April 11, 2016 Professor of Cardiology. Dr. Joel Kahn wrote a blog in the Huffington Post, painting a picture of heart failure as a widespread disease afflicting more than 5 million Americans with a total cost for the US society of more than 30 billion dollars yearly. In this context he points out that CoQ10 research is showing benefits from the use of CoQ10 against heart failure. Among the many clinical trials done with CoQ10 the Q-Symbio study stands out showing the most definitive evidence.

However, CoQ10 was not used as a substitute for standard cardiac care, but given op top of the patient's normal medication with overwhelming success. You can read the full article i the Huffington Post here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joel-kahn-md/heart-failure-new-hope-wi_b_9655206.html

The 8th International CoQ10 Conference

The results from the Q-Symbio study was first known to the public at international Q10 congresses, not least the 8th International Q10 Congress that was held in October 2015 in Bologna, Italy.

Q-Symbio was a double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. This study demonstrated that the daily administration of Myoqinon  to chronic heart failure patients improves the patients' symptoms and survival, thus opening the door for a biological treatment that is inexpensive and accessible.

The 8th ICQA Conference was a little atypical in that its main focus was on CoQ10’s role in the body's biochemistry and especially on CoQ10's impact on the epigenetics, i.e. the phenomenon that CoQ10 turns on some genes and turns off other genes without its making changes in the DNA sequence.

The conference concluded on a high note with the final research presentation, wich revealed the discrepancy between the actual science of CoQ10's absorption and the recent marketing practice of wrongly positioning ubiquinol CoQ10 products. Renowned international CoQ10 researcher Dr. William Judy from SIBR Research, Inc. presented the results of independent research on the body's absorption of CoQ10.

Dr. William Judy Presents Results of CoQ10 Absorption Research

The final presentation of the conference was presented by Dr. William Judy, who has carried out research on CoQ10 since his days at Baylor University, where he worked directly with the renowned CoQ10 pioneer, Dr. Karl Folkers. Dr. Judy’s presentation revealed data from independent research on the absorption and bioavailability of the two forms of CoQ10. Dr. Judy's data showed that there is no significant difference in absorption levels of ubiquinone and ubiquinol and that CoQ10 continuously switches from one form to the other after it is absorbed in the body. Dr. Judy established that there is no basis for claiming that CoQ10 in the form of ubiquinol is a better form than ubiquinone for the human physiology. Rather, ubiquinol will be oxidized and turned into ubiquinone prior to absorption, which means that the body naturally transforms ubiquinone back to ubiquinol after absorption.

Ubiquinone is Still Preferable

We note that there are still no clear data that show a better effect from ubiquinol that could justify the somewhat higher purchase price. The reason why ubiquinol is more expensive to manufacture is that it is much less stable than the ubiquinone form and that the raw materials are purchased at a premium because the producer of ubiquinol products has to prevent the CoQ10 from oxidizing in order to preserve the ubiquinol. The most extensive data and the best research on CoQ10 comes from studies done with Myoqinon (ubiquinone dissolved in vegetable oil).

Pharma Nord markets CoQ10 in a number of different oil solutions under different market names. In some countries Pharma Nord markets CoQ10 in the form of Myoqinon, a medical drug intented for the prevention and treatment of CoQ10 deficiency. Pharma Nord's CoQ10 is also found as an OTC drug that is available from pharmacies and in health food stores; however, the majority of Pharma Nord's CoQ10 is sold as a dietary supplement, which is also the case in the US.