HYPOTHESIS: mitoquinone (MitoQ), a mitochondria-targeted antioxidant, would ameliorate TBI/rmTBI associated pathologic features by mitigating rmTBI-induced oxidative stress.

Thank you to DCGreenZone1 for this article.   

Mitoquinone supplementation alleviates oxidative stress and pathologic outcomes following repetitive mild traumatic… https://t.co/Z0v9TNBqV2

— Mike Walgenbach (@mwalgen44) October 25, 2022

This is no small effect.  MitoQ is a compound that mimics COq10.  The difference is that MitoQ is able to penetrate the lipid barriers of your cells and enter the cell to perform antioxidant work there.  PubMed explains, 

MitoQ has demonstrated encouraging preclinical results in numerous studies in isolated mitochondria, cells and tissues undergoing oxidative stress and apoptotic death. MitoQ aims to not only mimic the role of the endogenous mitochondrial antioxidant coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), but also to augment substantially the antioxidant capacity of CoQ to supraphysiological levels in a mitochondrial membrane potential-dependent manner. MitoQ represents the first foray into the clinic in an attempt to deliver an antioxidant to an intracellular region that is responsible for the formation of increased levels of potentially deleterious reactive oxygen species

The study above on Mitoquinone's effects on brain injury is a must-and-quick-read.  I'm just thinking how many parents could benefit from knowing about this so that they can literally play Florence Nightingale with their active sons and daughters.  It would eliminate the downtime and taken-out-of-the-game time for their children and themselves if an accident were to occur.  And without melodramatic exaggeration, it could mean the difference between life and death.  Check it out: 

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of disability and death. Mild TBI (mTBI) constitutes ~75% of all TBI cases. Repeated exposure to mTBI (rmTBI), leads to the exacerbation of the symptoms compared to single mTBI. To date, there is no FDA-approved drug for TBI or rmTBI. This research aims to investigate possible rmTBI neurotherapy by targeting TBI pathology-related mechanisms. Oxidative stress is partly responsible for TBI/rmTBI neuropathologic outcomes. Thus, targeting oxidative stress may ameliorate TBI/rmTBI consequences. In this study, we hypothesized that mitoquinone (MitoQ), a mitochondria-targeted antioxidant, would ameliorate TBI/rmTBI associated pathologic features by mitigating rmTBI-induced oxidative stress. To model rmTBI, C57BL/6 mice were subjected to three concussive head injuries. MitoQ (5 mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally to rmTBI+MitoQ mice twice per week over one month. Behavioral and cognitive outcomes were assessed, 30 days following the first head injury, using a battery of behavioral tests. Immunofluorescence was used to assess neuroinflammation and neuronal integrity. Also, qRT-PCR was used to evaluate the expression levels of antioxidant enzymes. 

Here are the findings: 

Our findings indicated that MitoQ alleviated fine motor function and learning impairments caused by rmTBI. Mechanistically, MitoQ reduced astrocytosis, microgliosis, dendritic and axonal shearing, and increased the expression of antioxidant enzymes. MitoQ administration following rmTBI may represent an efficient approach to ameliorate rmTBI neurological and cellular outcomes with no observable side effects. 

So MitoQ is an advanced formula of COQ10 or Ubiquinol.   

"The highest levels of COQ10 are in the organs of our body that need the most energy--so heart, liver, kidneys."

The best food source of COQ10 that you can get is heart, so beef heart, sheep heart, goat heart, chicken hearts.  Keep in mind that people have been eating [animal] hearts for millions of years.  Ken D. Berry, MD

One of the most honest medical professionals you will ever have the chance to listen to. https://t.co/NvAOFJ5bcI

— DCGreenZone1 (@DCGreenZone) October 24, 2022

A long list of medications that will tank your COQ10 levels. 

A coenzyme that hundreds of chemical interactions that your body needs to function optimally. 

The chemical name for Ubiquinol is ubiquinone, which rhymes with ubiquitous.  And the reason they named it that is because every animal on the planet, and most bacteria, have to have ubiquinone, or COQ10, in order to function optimally.  Something needed like this across all animal kingdoms, that's a hint that it's very, very important.  

Most of the COQ10 in your body is stored and used by your mitochondria.  The mitochondria make most of the energy molecules, the ATP and NADH that your body uses for energy.  So right off the bat, that if your COQ10 levels are low, you're just not going to have the energy that you need to function optimally.

Common side effect of low COQ10 levels is fatigue. 

The highest levels of COQ10 are in the organs of our body that need the most energy--so heart, liver, kidneys.  These have a much higher concentration of COQ10.  But what if you're taking a medication, a prescription or over-the-counter, that's tanking your COQ10 levels and you don't even know it.  And these organs are not going to be getting the COQ10 that they need for optimal functions.  

Statins drastically reduce your body's stores of COQ10.

Acid Blockers, or even over-the-counter antacids, also reduce your body's stores of COQ10.  So drugs like Nexium, Prevacid, Zantac, Prilosec, all of these meds are going to lower your COQ10.  Antacids like Rolaids, Tums, Mylanta, they're going to lower your body stores of COQ10.  

Many antibiotics Keflex, Cipro, Levaquin, Bactrim, they're going to lower your stores of COQ10 that your mitochondria take up for energy.  

Anti-depressants, like Elavil or Pamelor lower your COQ10 levels.

Blood-thinners Coumadin and Warfarin lower your COQ10 levels.  

A long list in the show notes.  Be sure to check out that list to see which meds you're taking.

FOODS RICH IN COQ10

Any cut of meat from any land animal or any fish that swims in the water is going to be a decent source of CO Enzyme Q10.  The best food source of COQ10 that you can get is heart, so beef heart, sheep heart, goat heart, chicken hearts.  Keep in mind that people have been eating [animal] hearts for millions of years.

DR. BERRY'S RECOMMENDATION

Don't take a chalky tablet.  Take an olive oil filled gel cap that has at least 100 milligrams of COQ10 . . . .  Dr. Berry says to take 100mg for each of the medications that you're taking.  So if you're taking 3 of the meds listed in his show notes, that means you take 300mgs of COQ10.  He cautions that if you're not taking any of these medications, and you take 1,000 mgs of COQ10 per day, it's not going to be harmful but it could cause some stomach upset.  That'd be about the worst of it, he explains.