CHICAGO, Sep 23, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- U.S. researchers are studying whether
taking the supplement co-enzyme Q10 may help slow Parkinson's disease.
The Phase III clinical randomized trail builds on previous work associating the
progression of Parkinson's disease and a lack of co-enzyme Q10 -- a substance
naturally produced in the body and key to its metabolic processes, such as cell
energy production, and the "mopping up" of harmful substances produced by the
processes.
"At present, the very best therapies we have for Parkinson's can only mask the
symptoms -- they do not alter the underlying disease," one of the trial leaders,
Dr. Katie Kompoliti of Chicago's Rush University Medical Center, said in a
statement. "Finding a treatment that can slow the degenerative course of
Parkinsons's is the holy grail of Parkinson's research."
In this study, 600 patients will be enrolled at 60 centers in the United States
and Canada. Two dosages of co-enzyme Q10 are being tested -- 1,200 mg and 2,400
mg delivered in maple nut-flavored chewable wafers that also contain vitamin E.
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Copyright 2009 by United Press International