Serum levels of coenzyme Q in patients with Lewy body disease.

The purpose of the present study was to compare serum levels of coenzyme Q(10) (CoQ(10)) and the coenzyme Q(10) cholesterol (CoQ(10)/cholesterol) ratio in 18 patients with Lewy body disease (LBD) with 20 matched controls. The mean serum coenzyme Q10 levels in patients with LBD were significantly reduced with respect to control group, however, no differences were found in CoQ(10)/cholesterol ratio between LBD patients and control group. There was no correlation among CoQ(10) and CoQ(10)/cholesterol ratio with age, age of onset, body mass index, duration of the disease or scores of the Mini Mental State Examination, UPDRS and Hoehn and Yahr stage. These results suggest the involvement of this enzimatic system in the pathogenic mechanism of LBD.