Diabetes is a serious disease. It is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. It can be managed with exercise, diet, insulin, and other drugs to control blood sugar levels.

Coenzyme Q10 for Prevention and Adjunct Treatment of Type-2 Diabetes

In a 2017 article in the British Journal of Diabetes, Dr. David Mantle, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and of the Royal College of Pathologists, makes the following points about the use of Coenzyme Q10Coenzyme Q10 molecules are fat-soluble molecules that are both bsynthesized 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... Read more about this term supplements to prevent and treat type-2 diabetes:

• CoQ10 depletion has been implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetes.
• Coenzyme Q10 plays important roles in both mitochondrial bio-energeticsBio-energetics is both the process and the study of the flow and transformation of energy in living beings.  Coenzyme Q10 has both a bio-energetics function and an antioxidant function in the body.... Read more about this term and in antioxidantAntioxidants are substances that protect the cells and lipoproteins against the harmful effects of free radicals. They are substances that prevent the oxidation of other molecules and compounds. There are two broad categories of antioxidants: enzymatic and non-enzymatic. Non-enzymatic antioxidants are substances like Coenzyme Q10, vitamin C, vitamin E, glutathione, and various carotenoids. Prominent enzymatic antioxidants include catalase, glutathione peroxidase,... Read more about this term protection against oxidative stress.
• Supplementation with Coenzyme Q10 can significantly improve glycemic control.
• Supplementation with Coenzyme Q10 can improve vascular dysfunction.
• Supplementation with Coenzyme Q10 may be of particular importance in type-2 diabetics who have been prescribed statinsStatins are a class of medications that effectively block the body’s synthesis of cholesterol. In so doing, statins also block the body’s synthesis of Coenzyme Q10.... Read more about this term.
• Supplementation with Coenzyme Q10 may be of particular importance for patients with fatty liver disease.
• Supplementation with Coenzyme Q10 is well tolerated, with no 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.  ... Read more about this term adverse effects reported in long-term use.
• The importance of the formulation of the Coenzyme Q10 supplement with respect to product quality and bio-availability cannot be over-emphasized.

Three Different Forms of Coenzyme Q10 Supplements

Coenzyme Q10 occurs in the body in three closely related chemical forms:

Individuals with type 2 diabetes are known to have considerably lower plasma/serum Coenzyme Q10 concentrations than do individuals who do not have diabetes [Zhang].

A 2018 meta-analysis and systematic review of the research literature indicates that Coenzyme Q10 supplementation improves glycemic control and increases HDL-cholesterol in individuals with type 2 diabetes [Zhang].

CoQ10 Supplementation and Glycemic Control

The results of the meta-analysis, drawn from an aggregated 13 clinical trials enrolling 795 patients with type 2 diabetes, show that the CoQ10 supplementation significantly decreased HbA1c (p=0.03) and fasting glucose (p=0.005).

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.... Read more about this term – those little bean-shaped organelles inside the cells – are the primary source of cellular energy.  Coenzyme Q10, both the Coenzyme Q10 the body synthesizes and the Coenzyme Q10 we get in our food and in supplements, is fundamental to the cellular energy production process.  That means that Coenzyme Q10 is fundamental to the normal functioning of all tissues that are dependent on energy metabolism.  The retina is an example of such tissue.

Why is Coenzyme Q10 important for patients with diabetic retinopathy?

• The number of diabetes patients diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy continues to grow.
• We need new methods to prevent and treat diabetic retinopathy, which is a complication of diabetes that is caused by oxidative damage to the blood vessels in the retina.
• Oxidative stress – the overproduction of harmful free radicals, also known as reactive oxygen species – is perhaps the primary cause of diabetic retinopathy [Calderon 2017].
• Coenzyme Q10 supplements at higher than normal doses (400- 500 milligrams per day) can decrease oxidative stress and increase antioxidant enzyme activity in patients [Sanoobar 2013].
• Coenzyme Q10 supplements in the form of ubiquinone improve mitochondrial homeostasis and diminish the breakdown of the energy production process [Rodriguez-Carrizalez 2016].

Antioxidant effect of CoQ10 on mitochondrial function in the retina

Researchers at the University of Guadalajara in Mexico investigated the antioxidant effect of adjunctive Coenzyme Q10 treatment on mitochondrial function in blood cells in patients with diabetic retinopathy [Rodriguez-Carrizalez 2016].

What do we hear about diabetes?  It is a silent disease.  Its symptoms are often silent until it is too late.  None of us wants to get type-2 diabetes. 

However, if it should happen, the main thing to know about Coenzyme Q10 supplementation and diabetes is that Coenzyme Q10 supplements are safe for diabetics to take.  Of course, diabetics should inform their physicians that they are planning to take a daily Coenzyme Q10 supplement of 100 or 200 milligrams, but there are research results to document that doing so is safe.

A 2016 systematic review and meta-analysis of the evidence from 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... Read more about this term has shown that daily supplementation with Coenzyme Q10 slightly but significantly reduced fasting blood sugar levels.  Another good thing: Coenzyme Q10 supplementation did not significantly affect fasting insulin levels or Hb1Ac levels.

In other words, pre-diabetics and diabetics can safely take Coenzyme Q10 supplements to gain these known heart health benefits:

• Improvement of the ATPATP (adenosine triphosphate) molecules are the high-energy molecules with easily broken phosphate bonds that release energy to the energy-requiring processes in the cells. Coenzyme Q10 is essential to the process of ATP production.... Read more about this term energy production in the heart muscle cells [Mortensen]
• Protection of the heart muscle cells against oxidative damage [Alehagen]
• Improvement of endothelial function in the heart and blood vessels [Littarru]
• Reduction of high blood pressure [Rosenfeldt]

Good Coenzyme Q10 news for pre-diabetics and diabetics
Yes, pre-diabetics and diabetics will want to talk with their physicians about the meta-analysis conducted by Dr. Moradi and his colleagues.  Pre-diabetics and diabetics can benefit from taking daily Coenzyme Q10 supplements in the same way that participants receiving the active Coenzyme Q10 treatment in the following studies have benefited as compared to participants in the placebo control groups: