Coenzyme Q10 deficiency has been implicated in fibromyalgia (FM). Past studies have demonstrated significant improvement in FM after oral CoQ10 supplementation. In the current study, the effects of oral CoQ10 was evaluated in four case reports of women with fibromyalgia.
Four women, ages 49, 43, 65 and 66 were diagnosed with FM using conventional American College of Rheumatology diagnostic criteria. All patients had high scores of pain, fatigue and sleep problems. All four women were treated with 300 mg/day of CoQ10 given in three divided doses of 100 mg, three times daily for 9 months. After 9 months, they were re-evaluated. A statistically significant improvement of pain, fatigue, sleep and tender points were observed. All women reported an improvement in pain, fatigue, sleep and tender points. 
Commentary: Fibromyalgia is an all too common chronic pain syndrome that includes chronic pain, fatigue, headache, sleep disturbances and depression. CoQ10 supplementation of cultured blood cells from individuals with FM resulted in a restoration of the mitochondrial dysfunctions found within these blood cells. In addition, a 2002 study saw a benefit of CoQ10 supplementation in FM patients and the group of researchers in the current study, also found clinical improvement in patients with oral CoQ10 in two other published results in 2011 and 2012.
CoQ10 deficiency is considered a potential intervention for FM due to its ability to improve mitochondrial function and also it’s ability as a free radical scavenger. Oxidative stress is one of the proposed mechanisms involved in the symptoms of FM. CoQ10 can induce biochemical changes that allow for recovery from inflammation, antioxidant enzymes, mitochondrial genesis and activated protein kinase activity. Through these mechanisms, CoQ10 may be able to restore mitochondrial function and reduce the lipid peroxidation and DNA damage caused by oxidative stress, resulting in improvement in symptoms of fibromyalgia.
Reference
Alcocer-Gomez E, Cano-Garcia F, Cordero M. Effect of coenzyme Q10 evaluated by 1990 and 2019 ACR diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia and SCL-90-R: Four case reports and literature review. Nutrition 2013;29:1422-1425
