Coenzyme Q10 levels are decreased in the cerebellum of multiple-system atrophy patients

Abstract

Background The objective of this study was to evaluate whether the levels of coenzyme Q10(CoQ10) in brain tissue of multiple system atrophy(MSA) patients differ from those in elderly controls and in patients with other neurodegenerative diseases. Methods Flash frozen brain tissue of a series of 20 pathologically confirmed MSA patients [9 olivopontocerebellar atrophy(OPCA) type, 6 striatonigral degeneration(SND) type, and 5 mixed type] was used for this study. Elderly controls(n = 37) as well as idiopathic Parkinson's disease(n = 7), dementia with Lewy bodies(n = 20), corticobasal degeneration(n = 15) and cerebellar ataxia(n = 18) patients were used as comparison groups. CoQ10 was measured in cerebellar and frontal cortex tissue by high performance liquid chromatography. Results We detected a statistically significant decrease(by 3-5%) in the level of CoQ10 in the cerebellum of MSA cases(P = 0.001), specifically in OPCA(P = 0.001) and mixed cases(P = 0.005), when compared to controls as well as to other neurodegenerative diseases [dementia with Lewy bodies(P<0.001), idiopathic Parkinson's disease(P<0.001), corticobasal degeneration(P<0.001), and cerebellar ataxia(P = 0.001)].