Does this mean taking CoQ10 during ra... - Advanced Prostate...

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Does this mean taking CoQ10 during radiation helps protect digestive tract?? https://pdf.sciencedirectassets.com/313922/1-s2.0-S2452109418X0

SuppWife profile image
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Can one of our more skilled community members please interpret this for me?

sciencedirect.com/science/a...

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LearnAll profile image
LearnAll

CoQ10 is an enzyme which is a strong antioxidant molecule. When a man is subjected to Radiation, all growing cells in the body come under threat of death including the cells of intestinal mucous membrane. (enteropathy= abnormality of intestines)

This study informs us that CoQ10 protects intestinal cells from cell death whereas radiation is still killing cancerous cells. This is an interesting observation as only sick, cancerous cells die and normal cells can survive even when subjected to a very strong threat of death by radiation.

Does CoQ supplement taken daily by some PCa people do the same......

that is protect normal cells stay alive and let cancer cells die. I will be waiting for other members interpretation of this speculation...

6357axbz profile image
6357axbz in reply to LearnAll

“When a man is subjected to Radiation, all growing cells in the body come under threat of death”

Are you saying that even if one is only given very focused SABR or SBRT that, “...all growing cells in the body come under threat of death...”?

LearnAll profile image
LearnAll in reply to 6357axbz

No. A general radiation can pose the threat not a very pointed specific one. The authors do use the word whole body radiation" in later part of this article.

depotdoug profile image
depotdoug in reply to LearnAll

Thanks, I understood that my 42 IMRT rad zaps a long time ago late 2005 were supposed to to be pinpoint accuracy to my prostate gland. They were but also laid damaged radiation tissue to my urethra. I'd like to do more research on CoQ10 enzyme use. My cardiologists(s) told me its not effective, CoQ10 i mean. Now i skeptical.

in reply to LearnAll

Very ambiguous subject indeed.

Six months ago, in the following thread, I made known my intention to try the combo of HCA, from Garcinia Cambogia and ALA (Alpha Lipoic Acid) which is an antioxidant as well.

healthunlocked.com/advanced......

Patrick posted this follow-up:

"A note on Alpha Lipoic Acid [ALA]. I take a lot of polyphenols at fairly high levels. These antioxidants become pro-oxidants at high levels. The aim is induce reactive oxidant species [ROS]. ALA is regarded as a somewhat reliable antioxidant. i.e. it might negate the effect of the polyphenols. This would certainly be the case with NAC. Perhaps ALA at a certain dose would not do that, but I am wary."

At that time I put aside ALA. During the following months my PSA started rising, so I thought "what do I have to loose" and finally, two months ago, I re-started taking ALA along with my other supplements, until the bottle got empty. One other thing I am suspicious of is coincident with the start of the PSA rise. During December 2019 I had gastroscopy. The doc prescribed 3 months of proton-pump inhibitors (PPI) that I took. I learned afterwards that PPIs are not a good match with PCa. In the following week I am going to have my monthly PSA test and I am very curious to see if any of the mentioned suspicions has any positive/negative effect.

LearnAll profile image
LearnAll in reply to

Ambiguous but very fascinating subject. Please post your findings about PSA before and after antioxidant use. I put on hold CoQ10, NAC and Glutathione as someone said that they might support Cancer cells besides supporting normal cells.

"AntiOxidants become pro oxidants at high levels"

Does that mean eating a lot of foods such as tomatoes, pomegranades, Guava ,Turmeric, Ginger,Garlic etc. etc. which have antioxidant effect...can work as pro oxidant s if eaten in high quantity..thus.. killing cancer cells ?]

There is another angle to this dilemma...anti oxidants help keep our immune system ,esp cell mediated immunity in good condition ..resulting in slowing or stopping cancer cell proliferation. A robust immune system is an asset...after all .that,s what kept us cancer free until we got diagnosed.

This issue of Anti Oxidant and Cancer cells needs further clarification . I hope knowledgeable members can shed some light on this confusing topic.

in reply to LearnAll

That's the nice about this forum. We can exchange views, ideas and results.

LearnAll profile image
LearnAll in reply to

True. Tolerating varying opinions without getting offended is truly an American value.

GodsDog profile image
GodsDog in reply to LearnAll

Both my naturopath and my radiologist have had me discontinue all antioxidants starting 10 days ahead of my radiation and I won’t resume them until a month or so after the radiation is complete. The very reason is that the antioxidants will protect some cancer cells as well as my healthy cells, and at least theoretically my healthy cells will recover where is the cancer cells will not so they want me off all significant antioxidants.

Tall_Allen profile image
Tall_Allen

No. It says that reduced CoQ10 in massive doses were radioprotective of the bowels in mice. Ask yourself-

How close is the mouse digestive tract to a human's?

How close is a mouse"s anatomy to a human's?

Where would I get reduced CoQ?

How could it be taken in such massive amounts without making a human sick?

How much time before it gets into the blood and protects the cancerous lymph nodes from radiation?

Alan Katz proposed a more powerful radioprotectant called amifostine to protect the bowels. However, it was abandoned when it was shown that bowel injury was the same with and without it. The key is careful planning, and no margins. Some ROs believe that hypo-fractionation is best; some believe that hyper-fractionation is best. Bowel motion can create toxicity, so low fiber is often used. I hope that Viewray will allow for image tracking of soft tissue.

in reply to Tall_Allen

TA, Ten months ago, when I raised such a subject, you noted:

"My RO showed me a comparison of ViewRay with cone beam CT imaging. Viewray was much worse. My RO has a machine but refuses to use it because he believes the image quality is so poor."

healthunlocked.com/advanced...

What happened in-between?

Did your RO got sensitive regarding the toxicity created by bowel motion?

The image quality has not changed for sure.

Tall_Allen profile image
Tall_Allen in reply to

In between he got a new machine. He's now running a randomized trial comparing the new Viewray to VMAT.

in reply to Tall_Allen

Good news!

Also, from the European side, where the competition with the Elekta Unity machine is ongoing:

June 25, 2020 -- Image-guided radiation therapy vendor ViewRay is highlighting the results of a clinical study on the use of its MR-guided radiation therapy (MRgRT) technology for treating men with prostate cancer.

Published in European Urology Oncology, the study is a one-year follow up to early outcomes data that were published in 2019 in 101 patients at Amsterdam University Medical Center who were treated with ViewRay's MRIdian radiation therapy system, which uses an onboard MRI scanner to guide treatment.

The one-year data echoed the early-outcomes findings that reported the continued absence of genitourinary or gastrointestinal toxicities at grade 3 or higher in men treated with MRIdian for prostate cancer.

The patients received MRIdian treatment in five fractions of 7.25 Gy. Thanks to the system's MRI guidance, the treatments did not use implanted markers or tissue spacers between rectum and prostate. This eliminates the need for an invasive procedure and can potentially reduce complications, according to ViewRay.

ViewRay pointed out that the positive results were achieved in a patient cohort considered to have complex disease, with 59% categorized as high risk.

Full text:

euoncology.europeanurology....

Tall_Allen profile image
Tall_Allen in reply to

At one year, the absence of GI or GU Grade 3 or higher side effects is about what VMAT gets too (which is why I don't see the point of SpaceOAR btw). I doubt there will be much difference between them in the RCT, but that's what RCTs are for. Placement of fiducials was a minor inconvenience for me, but I know men who hated it. To me, the biggest potential is in the gating of soft tissue landmarks in the prostate bed and pelvic lymph nodes.

in reply to Tall_Allen

You wrote:

"is in the gating of soft tissue landmarks in the prostate bed and pelvic lymph nodes"

Let me see if I understand it.

In electronics gating is switching on and off. If by this you are referring to the entire beam, this will only be a precautionary/safety measure. The real innovation is (and I understand this is what they are doing) the reshaping of the beam, in-between shots, so that organs are spared while at the same time recalculating doses for the compensation of "excluded" targets at a later instance.

Tall_Allen profile image
Tall_Allen in reply to

Shaping of the beam in VMAT is done by multileaf collimators.

When fiducials are used, the couch automatically adjusts to align the fiducials with the planned position (requiring no human intervention).

Gating is used MRIdian. Gating is also an automatic mechanism. When the prostate or other identified shape, falls outside of the next beam, the beam is automatically readjusted (requiring no human intervention).

LearnAll profile image
LearnAll

CoQ10 occurs in two forms..Oxidized called Ubiquinone and Reduced form called Ubiquinol.

It does not matter which form of CoQ10 we ingest..it gets converted to its needed form inside the body esp while going thru accepting or donating an electron in electron transport chain.

Any form of CoQ10 is OK..we do not need only reduced form in particular.

j-o-h-n profile image
j-o-h-n

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is an antioxidant that your body produces naturally. Your cells use CoQ10 for growth and maintenance. Levels of CoQ10 in your body decrease as you age. CoQ10 levels have also been found to be lower in people with certain conditions, such as heart disease......

CoQ10 is found in meat, fish and whole grains. The amount of CoQ10 found in these dietary sources, however, isn't enough to significantly increase CoQ10 levels in your body.

As a supplement, CoQ10 supplement is available as capsules, tablets and by IV. CoQ10 might help treat certain heart conditions, as well as migraines and Parkinson's disease.

It's also found in chocolate chip ice cream (two scoops)....

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Wednesday 08/26/2020 6:31 PM DST

LearnAll profile image
LearnAll in reply to j-o-h-n

Good info. My cardiologist who has been in practice for over 30 years recommends CoQ10 supplementation to almost all her patients who are above the age of 60 yrs.

Muffin2019 profile image
Muffin2019

I have been taking it since on a low dose of statin, the statin depletes it in your heart. My doctor is recommending it to all his patients.