CQ10 and decreased creatinine levels

Ask Our Experts Dr. John Agar, Nephrologist
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I stumbled across the following comment recently and I was wondering if there is any validity to his claims:

Try Coenzyme Q10 400mg a day. My godmother was diagnosed with stage 3 kidney disease 5 years ago. Her eGFR was 37. I put her on 400mg CoQ10 a day. Her kidney function had returned to normal within a year. Her eGFR is now above 60. She no longer needs to see a kidney specialist. Check out the following articles. . . .

http://www.bastyrcenter.org/content/view/882/


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18784258 (animal study)
If this works for you, and I hope it will, please let me know. This means a lot to me.

According to the article on CQ10 in the links I provided: //Dr. Singh recommends that all patients with renal failure take 180 mg/day of water-soluble CoQ10 (Q-Gel) if their urine output is greater than 500 ml/day on dialysis. If urine output increases to 1,000 ml/day within 12 weeks, then CoQ10 is likely to be effective. Patients should be able to stop dialysis within 12-48 weeks if the urine output goes above 1,500 ml/day. If urine output does not increase in 12 weeks, then CoQ10 is unlikely to be effective.//

So, why not give it 12 weeks and see how it goes? My thing is: How am I meant to measure my urine output each day? I could get creative, but I’m sure there must be something practical I could use, right?

I have an appointment (finally) to see the nephrologist on May 13th.

I was wondering if my weight training could cause a spike in creatinine levels.

Also, I recently took myself off of the omeprazole I was taking after reading of reported cases of nephritis and acute renal failure. In the 90 days that I took omeprazole my GFR dropped from 36 to 30.

Also, my creatinine level is at 2.70. From what I understand, my creatinine level should be closer to 8.0 before I would be required to go on dialysis. Is that correct?

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The recovery of kidney function to normal from an eGFR of 37 suggests that there was an ‘acute’ reason for the renal impairment … so-called AKI (or Acute Kidney Injury) … the precise nature of which is unknown to me.

AKI (and there are a multitude of possible causes) commonly recovers fully once the cause has been addressed. This may be - among many other causes - a drug reaction (and the list of drugs that can reversibly adversely affect kidney function is legion) , acute volume depletion (as may occur with things like gastroenteritis, or with vomiting and diarrhoea of any cause), acute cardiac decompensation, … the list goes on.

It can be misleading to place the reason for recovery on any agent (whether it be Coenzyme Q10 or any other) when the real reason for recovery likely lies in the reversible nature of AKI and the withdrawal of the initiating stimulus.

Without knowing the details of the episode, little more can be said.

As for the ‘role’ of CQ10 in CKD, there have been a number of papers seeking this association, as CQ10 fits best within a raft of agents commonly known as anti-oxidants and the role (or otherwise) of anti-oxidants in CKD, and cardiovascular disease as a whole, has been of some interest to researchers for some time.

A recent study from Turkey (Gokbel et al = reported in Renal Failure: 2011; 33(7:677-681) failed to show any difference in serum CQ10 levels in either CKD, CAPD or HD patients.

An Australian study (Mori et al = reported in J Hypertension: 2009; 27(9): 1863-1872) showed no independent effect of CQ10 on BP though it did seem to increase heart rate.

The literature has varied to and fro between some effect or nil effect … but it seems, on balance, that there is no evidence for a proven or sustained response and that the claims around any sustained benefit cannot be supported by peer review research to date.

Regarding omeprazole - this has been associated in a number of reports (of which our own was one of the first, if not the first) of acute interstitial nephritis in susceptible individuals (= rare, but occasional). Again, this is commonly reversible as omperazole is one of the drugs (see above) that can cause AKI.

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Thanks for your answer. I would say that I was diagnosed with CKD arbitrarily as I was never given a reason as to how exactly it is I came to have CKD. In other words, I don’t know if my condition could be considered AKD or related to a kidney injury, but I was off of my BP meds for about 4 years prior to being diagnosed with CKD and so my kidneys had to endure extremely high blood pressure during that time, but even during the 6 years prior the medicine I was given never managed to regulate my blood pressure. So, I don’t what are the hard rules when it comes to AKD vs. CKD and whether or not a reversal of my condition is a real potentiality. But you seem to think there is no real evidence to support the claims that CQ10 or any other antioxidant can improve kidney function.

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I’m beginning to think I should stop wasting my time trying to heal myself and just enjoy whatever time I have left before having to go on dialysis.

1 Like
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To reply to both comments:

First, while there is no peer-review data that I can find that coonfirms any benefit from Co-enzyme Q10 in CKD or dialysis patients, nor is there any evidence that I can find to say that a CQ10 tablet or capsule daily does harm. Not, that is, if taken at standard dosing regimens and intervals. It is, after all, essentially an anti-oxidant at heart and, while there has been some significant interest shown in the potentially beneficial effects ‘antagonists’ to super-oxides and ‘oxidative stress’ in cardiovascular diseases, in CKD and in dialysis, with at least some theoretical benefits, the sadder truth is that, to date, there has been no convincing evidence that currently available and orally taken anti-oxidants have made a true difference, have fulfilled their hoped-for role, or ‘do’ anything of value. And, on the negative side, they do not come cheaply, and can excite false hope. I am sad to say that most of the glowing reports seem to come from alternative medicine manufacturers and not from the scientific literature.

In a word, likely no harm done (except to the pocket book and the ‘hope’ index), but don’t expect miracles and there is nothing out there to suggest in any way that it willl be the magic cure you seek. Most CKD, sadly, is progressive. It sounds as if you have had severe, untreated and unremitting hypertension and that this is thought to be the basis for your progressive loss of eGFR. I am assuming that this has been fully investigated, that potentially remediable macrovascular renovascular disease has been excluded and that there is no underlying GN as a cause of the hypertension. it does not sound as if you have been biospied - though indeed there may be (or have been) no indication to do so - but, whatever the case, it sounds as if the horse may have bolted for you.

Whikle these are all clearly matters beyond my purview to consider, you should ensure with your treating nephrologist(s) that all reversible and/or CKD-slowable steps have been taken. It certainly sounds that you have CKD and not AKI - as was clearly the case with the first patient example you quoted in your original post - and, while CQ10 will likely do you no harm, I fear it will likely do you no good either … at least in the way you might most hope it to.

More important, I think, is attention to excellent BP control, tight lipid control, optimal sugar control, ideal weight control, maintenance of physical fitness and, above all, a positive approach to and a complete and all-modality (esp. home option) pre-education about the many good options that lie ahead for the management of your (?) impending CKD5 and its treatment.

PS: at the risk of being accused of self-promotion, you could do worse than to get a copy of the book Dori Schatell and I wrote about the choices and options for renal replacement therapy - and in particular, dialysis. The link for it appears at the top left hand corner of the home page to this site.

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I literally just made an account to write to this thread. I think it’s really messed up that the doctor is dissuading you from ubiquinol. Firstly, it’s not that expensive. How much are kidney drugs, dialysis… this is so like mainstream medicine. There are a lot of data if you search scholarly articles, ok ubiquinol’s effects on the kidney. This is something cheap, safe and natural you can try. If it doesn’t work, you tried. Don’t let someone who is stuck in a box of thinking from how he’s been trained, dissuade you. Shoot- my mainstream nephrologist knows I take ubiquinol. He readily admits he knows nothing about it, but he doesn’t try to stop me. I can’t conclusively tell yet if it is helpful for me or not, on my second bottle.

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and

I take 400 mg. tid of CQ10.