In a small study, supplements conferred a considerable benefit.
Statin use is associated with a variety of muscle-related symptoms. Might supplementation with coenzyme Q10, an essential mitochondrial energy-production cofactor that is inhibited by statins, reduce muscle pain accompanying statin treatment? To find out, investigators randomly assigned 32 patients taking statins for hyperlipidemia and reporting myopathic symptoms to receive a daily supplement of 100 mg coenzyme Q10 (n=18) or 400 IU of vitamin E (n=14) for 30 days. Vitamin E was selected as a control because coenzyme Q10 is an antioxidant.
All participants completed the trial and complied entirely with their dietary supplement regimens. There was no between-group difference in statin treatment. The intensity of myopathic pain, as assessed by the Brief Pain Inventory and reported as a pain severity score, was similar in the two groups before supplementation. At 30 days, pain intensity had decreased by 40% in the coenzyme Q10 group compared with no change in pain intensity in the vitamin E group (P<0.001). Sixteen of 18 patients reported pain relief with coenzyme Q10, but just 3 of 14 patients reported pain relief with vitamin E. Pain scores did not correlate with plasma creatine kinase concentrations, either before or after the intervention.
Comment: These results suggest that coenzyme Q10 supplementation is an effective treatment for some patients with muscle aches due to statin treatment. Clinicians should assess patients’ muscle symptoms before initiating statin therapy to establish a baseline for evaluating symptoms associated with subsequent statin use.
— Joel M. Gore, MD
Published in Journal Watch Cardiology June 6, 2007
Caso G et al. Effect of coenzyme Q10 on myopathic symptoms in patients treated with statins. Am J Cardiol 2007 May 15; 99:1409-12.)