Does Dietary Coenzyme Q10 plus Selenium Supplementation Ameliorate Clinical Outcomes by Modulating Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in Individuals with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

Abstract

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a neuroinflammatory, multifaceted chronic disorder of unknown cause. Accumulating data indicate a link between a redox imbalance, mitochondrial dys-function, and inflammation status in ME/CFS. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) and selenium as effective antioxi-dant and anti-inflammatory agents have shown potential clinical implications in chronic diseases; however, their therapeutic benefits in ME/CFS remain elusive. This open-label exploratory study aimed to evaluate the effec- tiveness of combined CoQ10 plus selenium supplementation on clinical features and circulating biomarkers in ME/CFS. Twenty-seven ME/CFS patients received an oral combination of 400 mg of CoQ10 and 200 lg of selenium daily for 8 weeks. The primary endpoint was patient-reported changes in outcome measures from baseline to 8 weeks' postintervention. Secondary endpoint included changes in circulating biomarkers from base-line to each participant. After an 8-week intervention, a significant improvement was found for overall fatigue severity ( p = 0.021) and global quality of life ( p = 0.002), while there was no significant effect on the sleep dis-turbances ( p = 0.480) among participants. After 8 week's intervention, there was significantly increased total antioxidant capacity, and there were reduced lipoperoxide levels from the participants ( p < 0.0001 for both). Circulating cytokine levels decreased significantly ( p < 0.01 for all), but with no significant changes in the C-reactive protein, FGF21, and NT-proBNP biomarkers after supplementation. Based on these findings, we hypo-thesized that long-term supplementation of combined CoQ10 and selenium may indicate a potentially beneficial synergistic effect in ME/CFS. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 36, 729-739.