Written by Joyce Smith, BS. This study demonstrates that CoQ10 supplementation significantly decreased CGRP and TNF-α but had no effects on IL-6 and IL-10 in patients with migraine.
Migraine headache, viewed as the 6th most debilitating medical condition in the world 1, is a neurovascular disorder that is three times more prevalent in women. It is characterized by unilateral throbbing head pain, often accompanied with nausea and vomiting, and sensitivity to light and sound. Previous studies have shown that migraine sufferers, who supplemented with CoQ10 at daily doses of 150-300 mg, reduced their number of migraine headache days and their monthly frequency of headaches by more than 50% and in some instances were migraine free. In addition, CoQ10, while being effective, was free of side effects. 2,3
Inflammatory cytokines such as (TNF)-α 4 and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) 5 may both be involved in the pathogenesis of migraine, and migraine patients have been reported to have impaired serum levels of these markers. CGRP is a neuropeptide that is released from meningeal trigeminal nerve endings following trigeminal nerve activation. It is produced in up to 50% of trigeminal neurons of the nervous system and acts as a potent dilator of peripheral and cerebral blood vessels. 6 Evidence suggests that the concentration of CGRP produced, its release by the perivascular nerve endings into the surrounding brain tissue, and its effect on vasodilation, causes the pain associated with migraine; thus, compelling researchers to investigate a potential integral role for CGRP in the pathophysiology of migraine.
A breakthrough 2018 randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial by Dahri et al demonstrated that CoQ10 supplementation significantly reduced migraine frequency, severity, and duration in participating subjects. 7 Researchers examined the potential anti-inflammatory effects of coenzyme Q10 in forty-five 18-50 year old non-menopausal women diagnosed with episodic migraine, who were given a three-month oral supplementation with 400 mg/day of coenzyme Q10 (n=43) or a placebo (n=44). Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP); interleukin 6 (IL-6), both a pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine; interleukin 10 (IL-10), an anti-inflammatory cytokine; and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), a pro-inflammatory cytokine; were measured at baseline and following the three-month supplementation.
Results showed that CoQ10 supplementation reduced the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and TNF-α, but had no effects on IL-6 and IL-10 plasma levels. Interestingly, a significant improvement was found in frequency (p = 0.018), severity (p = 0.001) and duration (p = 0.012) of migraine attacks in the CoQ10 group compared to placebo.
The results also showed a significant prophylactic effect of the CoQ10 supplementation on migraine attacks, resulting in less severe, shorter, and less frequent headaches. Serum CoQ10 concentration significantly increased following the CoQ10 group intervention and demonstrated anti-inflammatory effects in this group. CoQ10 accomplished this through significant reductions in blood levels of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), the signaling molecule originating in nerve endings that triggers vasodilation, inflammation and pain in the surrounding brain tissue.
A study limitation of this study was the fact that migraine symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and photophobia were not assessed by the researchers. Larger studies of longer intervention to observe CoQ10’s long term effects are warranted.
Source: Dahri, Monireh, Ali Tarighat-Esfanjani, Mohammad Asghari-Jafarabadi, and Mazyar Hashemilar. “Oral coenzyme Q10 supplementation in patients with migraine: Effects on clinical features and inflammatory markers.” Nutritional neuroscience (2018): 1-9.
© 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group DOI 10.1080/1028415X.2017.1421039
Posted June 26, 2019.
Joyce Smith, BS, is a degreed laboratory technologist. She received her bachelor of arts with a major in Chemistry and a minor in Biology from the University of Saskatchewan and her internship through the University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine and the Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She currently resides in Bloomingdale, IL.
References:
- Vos T, Barber RM, Bell B, et al. Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 301 acute and chronic diseases and injuries in 188 countries, 1990–2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013. The Lancet. 2015;386(9995):743-800.
- Sandor P, Di Clemente L, Coppola G, et al. Efficacy of coenzyme Q10 in migraine prophylaxis: a randomized controlled trial. Neurology. 2005;64(4):713-715.
- Shoeibi A, Olfati N, Sabi MS, Salehi M, Mali S, Oryani MA. Effectiveness of coenzyme Q10 in prophylactic treatment of migraine headache: an open-label, add-on, controlled trial. Acta Neurologica Belgica. 2017;117(1):103-109.
- Perini F, D’Andrea G, Galloni E, et al. Plasma cytokine levels in migraineurs and controls. Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain. 2005;45(7):926-931.
- Durham PL. Calcitonin gene‐related peptide (CGRP) and migraine. Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain. 2006;46:S3-S8.
- Karsan N, Goadsby PJ. CGRP mechanism antagonists and migraine management. Current neurology and neuroscience reports. 2015;15(5):25.
- Dahri M, Tarighat-Esfanjani A, Asghari-Jafarabadi M, Hashemilar M. Oral coenzyme Q10 supplementation in patients with migraine: Effects on clinical features and inflammatory markers. Nutritional neuroscience. 2018:1-9.
