The antioxidant Coenzyme Q-10 (CoQ10), a nutrient that occurs naturally in the body and is involved in mitochondrial function, was linked in a preliminary study to significant improvements in the health outcomes of intensive care unit (ICU) patients on mechanical ventilation. Clinical measures included inflammatory markers, duration of hospital stay, and time spent on mechanical ventilators.
 
“Today, trauma is known to be the third leading cause of death in most countries, 50% of which is due to brain damage,” the authors of the study, which appeared in the Journal of Nutritional Science, said. “Trauma exhibits a metabolic response that is characterized by hypermetabolism, inflammation, oxidative stress, and accelerated protein catabolism.”
 
CoQ10 is understood by researchers to exhibit potent antioxidant effects, and the authors of the study hypothesized that supplementation with 400 mg daily could benefit mechanically-ventilated patients, as long-term mechanical ventilation (MV) is associated with cellular damage, oxidative stress, and endothelial injury. Oxidative stress is known to interfere with mitochondrial function, and CoQ10 is thought to prevent oxidation-induced cellular damage, the researchers said.
 
The authors of the study enrolled 40 traumatic injury patients in the study who had low plasma CoQ10 levels, and were on mechanical ventilation at the Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex in Iran between the ages of 18 and 65. Subjects were placed into either an experimental group or a control group. The primary outcome of the study was concentrations of interleukin-6 (IL-6), with secondary outcomes including organ failure assessment, MV duration, length of ICU stay, length of hospital stay, body composition, and concentrations of other biochemical markers associated with traumatic injury.
 
Following the study period of seven days, the authors of the study found that 400 mg of daily supplementation with CoQ10 significantly reduced concentrations of inflammatory markers including IL-6 and MDA, significantly improved scores in the Glasgow Coma Scale and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment scores, significantly reduced mechanical ventilation duration, and improved multiple metabolic parameters, which included fat-free mass, skeletal muscle mass, and body cell mass.
 
“Previous studies have shown that the levels of inflammatory factors increase in patients with traumatic injury. Researchers have suggested that elevated blood cytokine concentrations during the acute phase of trauma are correlated with the development of fatal post-traumatic complications, especially MV duration,” the authors of the study concluded.
 
While the researchers noted that the significant MV duration reductions achieved by CoQ10 were promising, the relatively low sample size of 40 participants could mean that most of the parameters of the study could have been false positives. Nonetheless, they conclude that further investigation with different dosages and a longer intervention time might be warranted, as this is the first study to the authors’ knowledge that finds positive outcomes from CoQ10 supplementation in ICU patients on mechanical ventilation.