KanekaQH(TM) Ubiquinol Dramatically Boosts Ejection Fraction in Patients With Late-Stage Congestive Heart Failure

Results of first clinical trial indicate pre-converted form of Coenzyme Q10 positively impacted heart function in critically ill subjects

HOUSTON, Feb. 18 /PRNewswire/ — Results from the first clinical trial evaluating ubiquinol’s effects on late-stage congestive heart failure showed that the newly available pre-converted form of Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) dramatically boosted ejection fraction in critically ill patients. Published in the January 2009 issue of Biofactors, a peer-reviewed scientific journal, the year-long study showed that patients’ ejection fraction (EF), the capacity at which their heart pumps blood, in some cases more than tripled.

Healthy individuals typically have EF levels of 55 to 70 percent. Damage to the heart muscle, such as that sustained following a heart attack, heart-valve problems, or during myocardial infarction or myocardiomyopathy, impairs the heart’s ability to eject blood and therefore reduces EF.

All of the patients that participated in this clinical trial had an EF level below a 35 percent and were classified as New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class IV – a designation that denotes patients’ showed symptoms of insufficient heart function while at rest and were unable to carry out any form of physical activity without discomfort. The prognosis for patients with NYHA Class IV heart failure is very poor, with mortality rates as high as 74 percent within 6 months and 94 percent within 12 months.

From June 2006 through May of 2007, the clinical trial followed seven Class IV patients who were under maximal medical therapy and supplementing their treatments with ubiquinone (CoQ10). The study, led by cardiologist Peter Langsjoen, assessed the effect of changing their ubiquinone supplementation to ubiquinol (Kaneka QH(TM)).

When switched to supplemental ubiquinol, there was a dramatic increase in both the patients’ EF and plasma CoQ10 levels with corresponding improvements in clinical status in all seven patients. The improvements while on ubiquinol were so significant that six of the seven patients survived longer than expected and remained stable between NYHA Class I-III for an average of 12 months.

“In 25 years of experience in treating congestive heart failure, we have consistently seen the best response when CoQ10 is begun early in the course of the disease,” said Dr. Langsjoen, who conducted the research in Tyler, Texas.

“The improvement in ejection fraction levels in these seven patients with end-stage congestive heart failure was associated with overall clinical improvement. It is likely that ubiquinol would show even more clinical benefit in early congestive heart failure. Future controlled trials of Kaneka QH(TM) in congestive heart failure are anxiously awaited.”

About Kaneka QH(TM) (ubiquinol)

Both ubiquinone and ubiquinol are essential to generating cellular energy and sustaining life; however, the reduced form, ubiquinol, is responsible for the powerful antioxidant benefits associated with CoQ10. More than 90 percent of the CoQ10 found in a healthy person’s plasma is in its reduced ubiquinol form.

For the past 40 years, only ubiquinone was available as a supplement. KanekaQH(TM), the world’s only supplemental ubiquinol, has only been available since late 2006. The ingredient, manufactured exclusively by Kaneka, is currently available in more than 30 consumer supplements.

“Cardiovascular patients, those fighting age-related diseases and even healthy people over the age of 40 have a critical need to optimize the EF and plasma CoQ10 levels within their bodies,” explained Dr. Robert Barry of Kaneka Nutrients, L.P. “Because it’s so much better absorbed by the body, KanekaQH(TM) can raise CoQ10 levels more effectively and, as we’re seeing from Dr. Langsjoen’s study, can have tremendous health impact on those suffering from debilitating diseases.”

Full results of Dr. Langsjoen’s supplemental ubiquinol study is available www.kanekaqh.com/clinicaltrials. More information on supplemental ubiquinol is available at www.kanekaqh.com.

About Kaneka Nutrients

Kaneka Nutrients L.P. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kaneka Corporation (www.kaneka.co.jp/kaneka-e/), headquartered in Japan. The company, based in Pasadena, Texas, manufactures an array of unique nutritional ingredients for the supplement and food & beverage industries. Kaneka is the largest manufacturer of CoQ10 in the world, and the only company that manufactures CoQ10 in the U.S.

SOURCE Kaneka Nutrients L.P.