Coenzyme Q10 applications for cancer therapy
A decade ago a friend of mine with a similar history of health problems recommended CoQ10. Although I’m not a fan of supplements, I tried taking 60mg and then cut back to 30mg a day. I had been plagued with arrhythmia and thought that the very appearance of this individual gave testimony to his health and so the story goes. Since then I have researched all the benefits of natural food as opposed to prescription pills and supplements. Too much money and a ton of pills were major objections for me. I once told the Arthritis Foundation that it wasn’t rheumatoid arthritis that was killing its victims - it was the dangerous drugs. Nobody wants to cure arthritis — it is the “goose that laid the golden egg.” Not a one of the patients I knew were ever cured of arthritis. They just piled on the pills in a pyramid of side effects that led to new prescriptions — more visits to the doctor and the pharmacy. And so I tried to find a better way. The short and long of it is that some supplements do make sense, but no one can keep up with the “miracle magic bullets” that are recommended in catalogs of anecdotal evidence without research to back up their statements.
In these past 10 years, I have noticed a more regular heart beat. Whereas prescription pills almost killed me with beta blocker that dropped my pulse rate to 30 bpm. Now I am seeing evidence that there are new sources recommending its use. One of the newer claims is an application for cancer therapy.
The frustration of medical doctors with the ever lasting flow of findings that identify the cure - worse than the disease has brought on a new era of “Integrative Medicine.”
Doctors coming from India and Pakistan are amongst the most receptive physicians to the natural remedies, or some combination of therapies. These doctors are friends of mine and readily admit to the merits of a new wave of research that includes non-pharmaceutical remedies. My eye surgeon even said, “The best cure is “mother nature.”
Promising new research suggests that coenzyme Q10 may be an important adjuvant therapy for cancer patients. Scientists have discovered that CoQ10 can program cancer cells to self-destruct before multiplying at their customary, lethal rates. For millions of cancer patients, the implications of this discovery are nothing short of profound.
This finding was one of several from recent studies conducted by researchers at the University of Miami (FL), using CoQ10 as their test agent. In a telephone interview in July 2005, principal investigator Dr. S.L.Hsia told Life Extension, “This is the first time in history we have been able to selectively teach a cancer cell to kill itself with CoQ10s, via a mitochondrial mechanism, without harming the healthy cells.”
According to team researcher Niven R. Narain, cancer cells lose their apoptotic potential, or ability to respond to programmed cell death. “What CoQ10 does is to restore apoptosis to cancer cells,” Narain told Life Extension. “The data suggest that CoQ10 significantly reduces expression of the bcl-2 gene family, which is responsible for conferring resistance to cell death. In essence, CoQ10 modulates bcl-2 in a manner that allows the cancer to kill itself without adversely affecting normal cells. This is why we say it is ‘selective,’ because the bcl-2 family is not affected in normal cells.”
CoQ10, a fat-soluble vitamin-like nutrient that is also called “ubiquinone” because it is found in every human cell, boosts energy, is a powerful antioxidant, and can bolster immune health. Growing research indicates that CoQ10 is valuable for fighting fatigue, preventing and managing heart disease and some cancers, and possibly reversing some of the toxic effects of chemotherapy. As a coenzyme, it support many important biochemical reactions in the body.
Peter H. Langsjoen, MD, FACC, began studying CoQ10 in 1983, seven years before Karl Folkers, PhD received the National Medal of science in recognition of his work. CoQ10s potential benefits for health disorders ranging from neurological aging to heart disease, and drew attention to numerous clinical studies demonstrating its safety.
The recent findings about CoQ10 may mean that in the near future a diagnosis of cancer may carry with it more hope for being able to continue living a long and healthy life.
Dr. Hsia feels, however, that adjuvant, or integrative, therapy with CoQ10 may be advisable. It might be advantageous to give cancer patients CoQ10 to cancer patients to help healthy cells produce mor ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the energy molecule.
The good new is that the medical community has opened the door to possible cures that are not patented by the pharmaceutical industry. They have also opened their minds to dealing with primary research to prove or disprove the claims of vitamin pushers. Either way, "integrative medicine" is on its way to attacking disease even if the cure isn’t a costly prescription drug with a patent. Open minds--determined to heal, whether or not motivated by profit, is just what this country needs to cut the cost of health care and begin moving towards better results for all Americans.
In these past 10 years, I have noticed a more regular heart beat. Whereas prescription pills almost killed me with beta blocker that dropped my pulse rate to 30 bpm. Now I am seeing evidence that there are new sources recommending its use. One of the newer claims is an application for cancer therapy.
The frustration of medical doctors with the ever lasting flow of findings that identify the cure - worse than the disease has brought on a new era of “Integrative Medicine.”
Doctors coming from India and Pakistan are amongst the most receptive physicians to the natural remedies, or some combination of therapies. These doctors are friends of mine and readily admit to the merits of a new wave of research that includes non-pharmaceutical remedies. My eye surgeon even said, “The best cure is “mother nature.”
Promising new research suggests that coenzyme Q10 may be an important adjuvant therapy for cancer patients. Scientists have discovered that CoQ10 can program cancer cells to self-destruct before multiplying at their customary, lethal rates. For millions of cancer patients, the implications of this discovery are nothing short of profound.
This finding was one of several from recent studies conducted by researchers at the University of Miami (FL), using CoQ10 as their test agent. In a telephone interview in July 2005, principal investigator Dr. S.L.Hsia told Life Extension, “This is the first time in history we have been able to selectively teach a cancer cell to kill itself with CoQ10s, via a mitochondrial mechanism, without harming the healthy cells.”
According to team researcher Niven R. Narain, cancer cells lose their apoptotic potential, or ability to respond to programmed cell death. “What CoQ10 does is to restore apoptosis to cancer cells,” Narain told Life Extension. “The data suggest that CoQ10 significantly reduces expression of the bcl-2 gene family, which is responsible for conferring resistance to cell death. In essence, CoQ10 modulates bcl-2 in a manner that allows the cancer to kill itself without adversely affecting normal cells. This is why we say it is ‘selective,’ because the bcl-2 family is not affected in normal cells.”
CoQ10, a fat-soluble vitamin-like nutrient that is also called “ubiquinone” because it is found in every human cell, boosts energy, is a powerful antioxidant, and can bolster immune health. Growing research indicates that CoQ10 is valuable for fighting fatigue, preventing and managing heart disease and some cancers, and possibly reversing some of the toxic effects of chemotherapy. As a coenzyme, it support many important biochemical reactions in the body.
Peter H. Langsjoen, MD, FACC, began studying CoQ10 in 1983, seven years before Karl Folkers, PhD received the National Medal of science in recognition of his work. CoQ10s potential benefits for health disorders ranging from neurological aging to heart disease, and drew attention to numerous clinical studies demonstrating its safety.
The recent findings about CoQ10 may mean that in the near future a diagnosis of cancer may carry with it more hope for being able to continue living a long and healthy life.
Dr. Hsia feels, however, that adjuvant, or integrative, therapy with CoQ10 may be advisable. It might be advantageous to give cancer patients CoQ10 to cancer patients to help healthy cells produce mor ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the energy molecule.
The good new is that the medical community has opened the door to possible cures that are not patented by the pharmaceutical industry. They have also opened their minds to dealing with primary research to prove or disprove the claims of vitamin pushers. Either way, "integrative medicine" is on its way to attacking disease even if the cure isn’t a costly prescription drug with a patent. Open minds--determined to heal, whether or not motivated by profit, is just what this country needs to cut the cost of health care and begin moving towards better results for all Americans.
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