It was a very sad and unexpected loss in the field of bio-medical research when Dr. Svend Aage Mortensen died on April 22, 2015, of infection and complications following heart valve replacement surgery in Copenhagen.
Dr. William Judy and Dr. Svend Aage Mortensen were long-time friends and contemporaries in the field of Q10 research. Both men knew and admired and worked with Dr. Karl Folkers. Dr. Folkers had, already in the early 1970s, reported on research showing a positive correlation between a deficiency of Coenzyme Q10 and the incidence of heart disease.
Clinical data showing the efficacy of Q10 supplementation
The friendship and cooperation between Dr. Judy and Dr. Mortensen was forged out of adversity and necessity. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tried to block the sales of Coenzyme Q10Coenzyme Q10 molecules are fat-soluble molecules that are both synthesized in the body and ingested in the diet and in supplements. Coenzyme Q10 is synthesized in the body in the same biological pathway as cholesterol. Bio-synthesis of Coenzyme Q10 begins to decline once humans reach their adult years. The reduced production of Coenzyme Q10 cannot be compensated in any practical... More in the United States. Both Dr. Judy and Dr. Mortensen presented clinical data to the FDA showing that Q10 supplementation was positively correlated with the following beneficial effects:
- significantThe outcome of a clinical trial is thought to have statistical significance, or to be statistically significant, if the outcome is likely not caused by chance at a given statistical significance level, typically at the 0.05 level. Statistically significant outcomes may or may not be clinically significant. More reductions in cardiovascular mortality
- lessening degrees of heart failureThe Mayo Clinic defines heart failure, also known as congestive heart failure and/or chronic heart failure, as the failure of the heart muscle to pump blood to the body adequately. In other words, heart failure is not a heart attack, and it is not death from heart disease, which its name might seem to imply. Heart failure is a condition... More
- improved survival rates (1,2,4,7)
Dr. Judy remembers that many of the heart failureThe Mayo Clinic defines heart failure, also known as congestive heart failure and/or chronic heart failure, as the failure of the heart muscle to pump blood to the body adequately. In other words, heart failure is not a heart attack, and it is not death from heart disease, which its name might seem to imply. Heart failure is a condition... More patients in the USA had relapses when they were taken off the Q10 supplementation (5). Some died when they were no longer receiving the Q10 supplement.
Coenzyme Q10Coenzyme Q10 molecules are fat-soluble molecules that are both synthesized in the body and ingested in the diet and in supplements. Coenzyme Q10 is synthesized in the body in the same biological pathway as cholesterol. Bio-synthesis of Coenzyme Q10 begins to decline once humans reach their adult years. The reduced production of Coenzyme Q10 cannot be compensated in any practical... More to prevent energy starvation in the heart
Both Dr. Judy and Dr. Mortensen got very involved in sending documentation to the FDA to show that Coenzyme Q10Coenzyme Q10 molecules are fat-soluble molecules that are both synthesized in the body and ingested in the diet and in supplements. Coenzyme Q10 is synthesized in the body in the same biological pathway as cholesterol. Bio-synthesis of Coenzyme Q10 begins to decline once humans reach their adult years. The reduced production of Coenzyme Q10 cannot be compensated in any practical... More was and is an effective means of preventing the energy starvation of the cardiac cells of chronic heart failureThe Mayo Clinic defines heart failure, also known as congestive heart failure and/or chronic heart failure, as the failure of the heart muscle to pump blood to the body adequately. In other words, heart failure is not a heart attack, and it is not death from heart disease, which its name might seem to imply. Heart failure is a condition... More patients.
Memories of Dr.Svend Aage Mortensen
Dr. Mortensen and his wife stayed with Dr. Judy and his family in Bradenton, Florida, and in Indianapolis, Indiana. The memories that Dr. Judy has of his friend and colleague are memories of a man whose professional interests were cardiology and patient care and Coenzyme Q10Coenzyme Q10 molecules are fat-soluble molecules that are both synthesized in the body and ingested in the diet and in supplements. Coenzyme Q10 is synthesized in the body in the same biological pathway as cholesterol. Bio-synthesis of Coenzyme Q10 begins to decline once humans reach their adult years. The reduced production of Coenzyme Q10 cannot be compensated in any practical... More research and whose private interests were his family and his music.
Dr. Judy remembers well that Dr. Mortensen especially liked to sing and often sang in the church choir in Indianapolis. When he was young, Dr. Mortensen had been a member of a famous Danish boys’ choir.
In 1986, Dr. Mortensen trained at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Indianapolis in percutaneous coronary angioplasty. Percutaneous procedures are procedures in which the surgeon gains access to the heart or other organs by use of needle-puncture of the skin as opposed to procedures involving the use of a scalpel to cut open the patient. While he was at St. Vincent’s, Dr. Mortensen taught the cardiologists there to do cardiac biopsies.
At that time, Dr. Judy was a professor of physiology at the Indiana University School of Medicine. He and his family had gotten to know Dr. Mortensen quite well, and, of course, the two men had their research interest in the safety and efficacy of Q10 in common. Over the years, the two researchers kept in touch with one another and saw one another at international conferences.
Coenzyme Q10Coenzyme Q10 molecules are fat-soluble molecules that are both synthesized in the body and ingested in the diet and in supplements. Coenzyme Q10 is synthesized in the body in the same biological pathway as cholesterol. Bio-synthesis of Coenzyme Q10 begins to decline once humans reach their adult years. The reduced production of Coenzyme Q10 cannot be compensated in any practical... More to militate against reperfusionsee ischemia-reperfusion. injury
Dr. Mortensen had worked with Dr. Whitman, a heart surgeon at the Thomas Jefferson University’s Medical College in Philadelphia. Their work had focused on the use of Coenzyme Q10Coenzyme Q10 molecules are fat-soluble molecules that are both synthesized in the body and ingested in the diet and in supplements. Coenzyme Q10 is synthesized in the body in the same biological pathway as cholesterol. Bio-synthesis of Coenzyme Q10 begins to decline once humans reach their adult years. The reduced production of Coenzyme Q10 cannot be compensated in any practical... More in myocardial preservation and in the prevention of reperfusionsee ischemia-reperfusion. injuries to the heart,
Reperfusionsee ischemia-reperfusion. injury, in the context of heart transplantation, refers to the additional damage that is done to heart tissue when the flow of blood is restored to tissues that have already suffered damage from a shortage of oxygen and glucose. Reperfusionsee ischemia-reperfusion. injury can influence negatively the outcome of the heart transplantation, and, consequently, it is thought that pre-treatment of the heart transplant patient with Q10 supplements can protect the heart muscle tissue against the free radicalsFree radicals are unstable and highly reactive molecules that are produced in the body during normal oxygen metabolism. Free radicals derived from oxygen are known as reactive oxygen species. Free radicals play both helpful and harmful roles in the body. Free radicals steal electrons from other substances in order to become stable. In so doing, the free radicals oxidize those... More that cause the damage.
Coenzyme Q10Coenzyme Q10 molecules are fat-soluble molecules that are both synthesized in the body and ingested in the diet and in supplements. Coenzyme Q10 is synthesized in the body in the same biological pathway as cholesterol. Bio-synthesis of Coenzyme Q10 begins to decline once humans reach their adult years. The reduced production of Coenzyme Q10 cannot be compensated in any practical... More deficiencies seen in rejected transplanted hearts
Dr. Judy remembers too that Dr. Mortensen worked with Dr. Jan Karlsson of the Department of Clinical Physiology, Karolinska Institute, in Stockholm. Dr. Karlsson had shown that rejected transplanted hearts had Coenzyme Q10Coenzyme Q10 molecules are fat-soluble molecules that are both synthesized in the body and ingested in the diet and in supplements. Coenzyme Q10 is synthesized in the body in the same biological pathway as cholesterol. Bio-synthesis of Coenzyme Q10 begins to decline once humans reach their adult years. The reduced production of Coenzyme Q10 cannot be compensated in any practical... More deficiencies (3). This was exactly what Dr. Gian-Paolo Littarru, working in Italy, had shown to be the case with kidney transplantation (10).
In Dr. Judy’s opinion, Dr. Mortensen’s work with the heart transplant patients in Denmark should be regarded as award-winning work. The one-year, five-year, and 12-year survival rates for heart transplant patients at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen (the Danish hospital for highly specialized treatment of patients) were well above the international averages.
Pre-treating heart transplant patients with Coenzyme Q10Coenzyme Q10 molecules are fat-soluble molecules that are both synthesized in the body and ingested in the diet and in supplements. Coenzyme Q10 is synthesized in the body in the same biological pathway as cholesterol. Bio-synthesis of Coenzyme Q10 begins to decline once humans reach their adult years. The reduced production of Coenzyme Q10 cannot be compensated in any practical... More
Notably, Dr. Mortensen used Coenzyme Q10Coenzyme Q10 molecules are fat-soluble molecules that are both synthesized in the body and ingested in the diet and in supplements. Coenzyme Q10 is synthesized in the body in the same biological pathway as cholesterol. Bio-synthesis of Coenzyme Q10 begins to decline once humans reach their adult years. The reduced production of Coenzyme Q10 cannot be compensated in any practical... More as a bridge to cardiac transplantation. Dr. Mortensen’s use of Coenzyme Q10 as a pre-treatment for heart transplant patients demonstrated that Q10 supplementation does not lead to increased bleeding during and after surgery.
Dr. Mortensen told Dr. Judy that it happened that, if a suitable heart had not been found within 120 days, some of the Danish patients – the ones who were taking Coenzyme Q10 supplements while waiting for a heart — could be taken off the transplant list. The obvious conclusion seemed to be that the Coenzyme Q10Coenzyme Q10 molecules are fat-soluble molecules that are both synthesized in the body and ingested in the diet and in supplements. Coenzyme Q10 is synthesized in the body in the same biological pathway as cholesterol. Bio-synthesis of Coenzyme Q10 begins to decline once humans reach their adult years. The reduced production of Coenzyme Q10 cannot be compensated in any practical... More supplements had been reducing the severity of the patients’ heart failureThe Mayo Clinic defines heart failure, also known as congestive heart failure and/or chronic heart failure, as the failure of the heart muscle to pump blood to the body adequately. In other words, heart failure is not a heart attack, and it is not death from heart disease, which its name might seem to imply. Heart failure is a condition... More.
Dr. Judy told me that Dr. Mortensen, while training in England, was the first heart specialist to show that cardiac mitochondriaThe mitochondria are the bean-shaped organelles in the cells. They are the key organelles with responsibility for the production of ATP energy molecules. More in heart failureThe Mayo Clinic defines heart failure, also known as congestive heart failure and/or chronic heart failure, as the failure of the heart muscle to pump blood to the body adequately. In other words, heart failure is not a heart attack, and it is not death from heart disease, which its name might seem to imply. Heart failure is a condition... More patients tended to colonize out towards the cell membranesThe cell membranes, sometimes called plasma membranes, are the physical barrier that protects the contents of the cells from everything that is outside the cells. The cell membranes also regulate what can move in and out of the cells. Coenzyme Q10 is present in all cell membranes in the body except in the red blood cells. It helps to prevent... More and then atrophy and become inactive. Treatment with Q10 supplements reversed this atrophy/inactivity, and the mitochondriaThe mitochondria are the bean-shaped organelles in the cells. They are the key organelles with responsibility for the production of ATP energy molecules. More migrated back into the heart cells and became active again.
It is for this reason that cardiologists prescribing Q10 supplements see a prolonged and delayed recovery of the heart with Q10 therapy.
Lead researcher on the Q-Symbio studyQ-Symbio is the abbreviated name for the two-year multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of Coenzyme Q10 supplements as an adjunct treatment of chronic heart failure patients. The name reflects the focus of the study on the SYMptoms, BIomarker status (BNP), and long-term Outcomes (hospitalizations and mortality) of the supplementation. The data from the Q-Symbio study show that long-term supplementation with... More of Q10 in heart failureThe Mayo Clinic defines heart failure, also known as congestive heart failure and/or chronic heart failure, as the failure of the heart muscle to pump blood to the body adequately. In other words, heart failure is not a heart attack, and it is not death from heart disease, which its name might seem to imply. Heart failure is a condition... More
Dr. Judy remembers Dr. Svend Aage Mortensen as a very solid and careful investigator. He was the ideal lead researcher and lead author for the Q-Symbio multi-center clinical trial of the efficacy of Q10 treatment of chronic heart failureThe Mayo Clinic defines heart failure, also known as congestive heart failure and/or chronic heart failure, as the failure of the heart muscle to pump blood to the body adequately. In other words, heart failure is not a heart attack, and it is not death from heart disease, which its name might seem to imply. Heart failure is a condition... More patients (6).
After Dr. Judy retired from Indiana University and went into contract research with the Southeastern Institute of Bio-Medical Research (SIBR), he and Dr. Mortensen kept up contact with one another, especially during Dr. Mortensen’s visits to the USA. Both Dr. Mortensen and Dr. Judy were skeptical about the advertising claims for the ubiquinol form of Q10 – the claims seemed to be marketing hype – and both men wanted to see research results from well-designed transparent studies instead of marketing claims.
Guidelines-directed adjunctive treatment of heart failureThe Mayo Clinic defines heart failure, also known as congestive heart failure and/or chronic heart failure, as the failure of the heart muscle to pump blood to the body adequately. In other words, heart failure is not a heart attack, and it is not death from heart disease, which its name might seem to imply. Heart failure is a condition... More with Coenzyme Q10Coenzyme Q10 molecules are fat-soluble molecules that are both synthesized in the body and ingested in the diet and in supplements. Coenzyme Q10 is synthesized in the body in the same biological pathway as cholesterol. Bio-synthesis of Coenzyme Q10 begins to decline once humans reach their adult years. The reduced production of Coenzyme Q10 cannot be compensated in any practical... More?
It was Dr. Mortensen’s hope that the results of the Q-Symbio study would lead to guidelines directing the use of Coenzyme Q10Coenzyme Q10 molecules are fat-soluble molecules that are both synthesized in the body and ingested in the diet and in supplements. Coenzyme Q10 is synthesized in the body in the same biological pathway as cholesterol. Bio-synthesis of Coenzyme Q10 begins to decline once humans reach their adult years. The reduced production of Coenzyme Q10 cannot be compensated in any practical... More as adjunctive treatment in heart failureThe Mayo Clinic defines heart failure, also known as congestive heart failure and/or chronic heart failure, as the failure of the heart muscle to pump blood to the body adequately. In other words, heart failure is not a heart attack, and it is not death from heart disease, which its name might seem to imply. Heart failure is a condition... More (9). He knew, moreover, that 10 of the 13 randomized controlled trialsRandomized controlled trials are studies in which patients or healthy volunteers are assigned at random (purely by chance) to receive one or more clinical interventions. One or more of the interventions is the active treatment being tested. Another of the interventions is the control against which the active treatment is being tested. The control is, typically, the standard practice or... More done prior to the Q-Symbio trial had shown improvements in such clinical parameters as their New York Heart AssociationSee NYHA More (NYHAThe New York Heart Association Functional Classification distinguishes four categories of heart failure according to how much the patients are limited in their physical activity. Category I: No limitation of physical activity. No undue fatigue, palpitation, or shortness of breath. Category II: Slight limitation of physical activity. Comfortable at rest. Fatigue, palpitation, or shortness of breath at ordinary physical activity.... More) classification, their exercise capacity, and their quality of life after supplementation with CoQ10. The other three studies, enrolling less than 10 percent of the total participants in the 13 studies, had shown neither benefit nor harm (8).
Sources:
- Judy, W. (1991). Improved long-term survival in Q10 treated congestive heart failureThe Mayo Clinic defines heart failure, also known as congestive heart failure and/or chronic heart failure, as the failure of the heart muscle to pump blood to the body adequately. In other words, heart failure is not a heart attack, and it is not death from heart disease, which its name might seem to imply. Heart failure is a condition... More patients compared to conventionally treated patients. Biomedical and Clinical Aspects of Coenzyme Q10Coenzyme Q10 molecules are fat-soluble molecules that are both synthesized in the body and ingested in the diet and in supplements. Coenzyme Q10 is synthesized in the body in the same biological pathway as cholesterol. Bio-synthesis of Coenzyme Q10 begins to decline once humans reach their adult years. The reduced production of Coenzyme Q10 cannot be compensated in any practical... More; 6, 291-300.
- Judy, W. (1986). Long term management of end stage heart failureThe Mayo Clinic defines heart failure, also known as congestive heart failure and/or chronic heart failure, as the failure of the heart muscle to pump blood to the body adequately. In other words, heart failure is not a heart attack, and it is not death from heart disease, which its name might seem to imply. Heart failure is a condition... More with Coenzyme Q10Coenzyme Q10 molecules are fat-soluble molecules that are both synthesized in the body and ingested in the diet and in supplements. Coenzyme Q10 is synthesized in the body in the same biological pathway as cholesterol. Bio-synthesis of Coenzyme Q10 begins to decline once humans reach their adult years. The reduced production of Coenzyme Q10 cannot be compensated in any practical... More. Biomedical and Clinical Aspects of Coenzyme Q10Coenzyme Q10 molecules are fat-soluble molecules that are both synthesized in the body and ingested in the diet and in supplements. Coenzyme Q10 is synthesized in the body in the same biological pathway as cholesterol. Bio-synthesis of Coenzyme Q10 begins to decline once humans reach their adult years. The reduced production of Coenzyme Q10 cannot be compensated in any practical... More; 5, 291-303
- Karlsson, J., Liska, J., Gunnes, S., Koul, B., Semb, B., Aström, H., & … Folkers, K. (1993). Heart muscle ubiquinoneUbiquinone, the oxidized form of Coenzyme Q10, expressed as Q10 or CoQ10, is absolutely essential for the mitochondrial ATP energy production process. Ubiquinone is the form of Coenzyme Q10 that the body synthesizes, and ubiquinone is the form of Coenzyme Q10 that has been extensively tested for safety, absorption, and efficacy in clinical trials. More and plasma antioxidants following cardiac transplantation. The Clinical Investigator, 71(8 Suppl), S76-S83.
- Mortensen, S. A. (1990). CoQ10: Clinical benefits with biochemical correlates suggesting a breakthrough in the management of chronic heart failureThe Mayo Clinic defines heart failure, also known as congestive heart failure and/or chronic heart failure, as the failure of the heart muscle to pump blood to the body adequately. In other words, heart failure is not a heart attack, and it is not death from heart disease, which its name might seem to imply. Heart failure is a condition... More. International Journal of Tissue Reactions; 12(3), 155-162.
- Mortensen, S.A. (1986). Clinical decline and relapse of cardiac patients on
coenzyme Q10Coenzyme Q10 molecules are fat-soluble molecules that are both synthesized in the body and ingested in the diet and in supplements. Coenzyme Q10 is synthesized in the body in the same biological pathway as cholesterol. Bio-synthesis of Coenzyme Q10 begins to decline once humans reach their adult years. The reduced production of Coenzyme Q10 cannot be compensated in any practical... More withdrawal. Biomedical and Clinical Aspects of Coenzyme Q10Coenzyme Q10 molecules are fat-soluble molecules that are both synthesized in the body and ingested in the diet and in supplements. Coenzyme Q10 is synthesized in the body in the same biological pathway as cholesterol. Bio-synthesis of Coenzyme Q10 begins to decline once humans reach their adult years. The reduced production of Coenzyme Q10 cannot be compensated in any practical... More; 5, 281-290. - Mortensen, S. A., Rosenfeldt, F., Kumar, A., Dolliner, P., Filipiak, K. J., Pella, D., & … Littarru, G. P. (2014). The effect of coenzyme Q10Coenzyme Q10 molecules are fat-soluble molecules that are both synthesized in the body and ingested in the diet and in supplements. Coenzyme Q10 is synthesized in the body in the same biological pathway as cholesterol. Bio-synthesis of Coenzyme Q10 begins to decline once humans reach their adult years. The reduced production of Coenzyme Q10 cannot be compensated in any practical... More on morbidity and mortality in chronic heart failureThe Mayo Clinic defines heart failure, also known as congestive heart failure and/or chronic heart failure, as the failure of the heart muscle to pump blood to the body adequately. In other words, heart failure is not a heart attack, and it is not death from heart disease, which its name might seem to imply. Heart failure is a condition... More: results from Q-SYMBIO: a randomized double-blindA double-blind study is a study in which neither the investigators nor the study participants know which participants are receiving the active treatment and which participants are receiving the control treatment until the study has been completed and the seal on the code has been broken. More trial. JACC. Heart FailureThe Mayo Clinic defines heart failure, also known as congestive heart failure and/or chronic heart failure, as the failure of the heart muscle to pump blood to the body adequately. In other words, heart failure is not a heart attack, and it is not death from heart disease, which its name might seem to imply. Heart failure is a condition... More, 2(6), 641-649.
- Mortensen, S. A. (1984). Effectiveness of CoQ10 to treat patients with cardiomyopathy and CoQ10 levels in blood and endomyocardial biopsies. Biomedical and Clinical Aspects of Coenzyme Q10Coenzyme Q10 molecules are fat-soluble molecules that are both synthesized in the body and ingested in the diet and in supplements. Coenzyme Q10 is synthesized in the body in the same biological pathway as cholesterol. Bio-synthesis of Coenzyme Q10 begins to decline once humans reach their adult years. The reduced production of Coenzyme Q10 cannot be compensated in any practical... More; 4, 391-402.
- Mortensen, S. A. (2003). Overview on coenzyme Q10Coenzyme Q10 molecules are fat-soluble molecules that are both synthesized in the body and ingested in the diet and in supplements. Coenzyme Q10 is synthesized in the body in the same biological pathway as cholesterol. Bio-synthesis of Coenzyme Q10 begins to decline once humans reach their adult years. The reduced production of Coenzyme Q10 cannot be compensated in any practical... More as adjunctive therapy in chronic heart failureThe Mayo Clinic defines heart failure, also known as congestive heart failure and/or chronic heart failure, as the failure of the heart muscle to pump blood to the body adequately. In other words, heart failure is not a heart attack, and it is not death from heart disease, which its name might seem to imply. Heart failure is a condition... More. Rationale, design and end-points of “Q-symbio”–a multinational trial. Biofactors (Oxford, England), 18(1-4), 79-89.
- Mortensen, S. A. (2015). Coenzyme Q10Coenzyme Q10 molecules are fat-soluble molecules that are both synthesized in the body and ingested in the diet and in supplements. Coenzyme Q10 is synthesized in the body in the same biological pathway as cholesterol. Bio-synthesis of Coenzyme Q10 begins to decline once humans reach their adult years. The reduced production of Coenzyme Q10 cannot be compensated in any practical... More: Will This Natural Substance Become a Guideline-Directed Adjunctive Therapy in Heart FailureThe Mayo Clinic defines heart failure, also known as congestive heart failure and/or chronic heart failure, as the failure of the heart muscle to pump blood to the body adequately. In other words, heart failure is not a heart attack, and it is not death from heart disease, which its name might seem to imply. Heart failure is a condition... More? JACC. Heart FailureThe Mayo Clinic defines heart failure, also known as congestive heart failure and/or chronic heart failure, as the failure of the heart muscle to pump blood to the body adequately. In other words, heart failure is not a heart attack, and it is not death from heart disease, which its name might seem to imply. Heart failure is a condition... More, 3(3), 270-271.
- Serino, F., Citterio, F., Lippa, S., Oradei, A., Agnes, S., Nanni, G., & Littarru, G-P. (1990). Coenzyme Q, alpha tocopherol and delayed function in human kidney transplantation. Transplantation Proceedings, 22(4), 1375-1378.