QNeeds® is a highly bioavailable form of coenzyme Q10 (coQ10). CoQ10 is an essential electron carrier in the respiratory chain, where almost all of the energy for the body is produced. It also functions as an antioxidant, which protects the body from damage caused by harmful molecules. Many chronic conditions, especially those involving mitochondrial function, can increase the demand for CoQ10 in the body, leading to deficiency. Having been a mainstay of the mito-cocktail in the treatment of mitochondrial disease for decades, many physicians now recommend CoQ10 supplementation for a variety of different medical conditions.

Some chronic conditions, especially those involving mitochondrial function, can increase the demand for coQ10 in the body, leading to deficiency. CoQ10 is generally present in only small amounts in foods, which leads many physicians to recommend supplementation. CoQ10 is sometimes recommended for treating a wide range of conditions, especially those associated with mitochondrial dysfunction, including functional, neurodevelopmental, and cardiac conditions. Functional conditions involve anomalous symptomatology from disease of the nervous system, and include migraine, fibromyalgia, other pain conditions, cyclic vomiting, irritable bowel, gastroparesis, chronic fatigue, and dysautonomia. Studies have demonstrated benefits of coQ10 in migraine (multiple), cyclic vomiting, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue syndrome, among others. Anxiety, depression, and panic disorder are also considered functional, and sometimes improve as well with coQ10. Neurodevelopmental disorders include autism, ADHD, intellectual disability, and epilepsy). In one study in autism, significant improvements were noted in communication skills, playing with friends, sleeping, and food acceptance with coQ10 supplementation to plasma levels above 2.2 mg/L

(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3953391/pdf/OMCL2014-798957.pdf).

Probably the most common usage of coQ10 is in cardiac conditions, including recovery from post cardiac surgery. CoQ10 is often recommended in individuals taking statin drugs to lower cholesterol. CoQ10 is also said to boost energy and speed recovery from exercise, and to slow down some effects of aging. Essentially, anyone who is interested in excellent health might consider taking coQ10.

CoQ10 comes in two forms, ubiquinone, the oxidized form, and ubiquinol, the reduced antioxidant form. Both forms can easily be processed into the other by the body through either the loss or gain of electrons. Ubiquinone is the original and more clinically tested form, as well as the form that is in most dietary supplements. Many people claim that ubiquinol has better gut absorption and that a much lower dose is required. Additionally, ubiquinol likely has better penetration into brain, which is a good argument for the use of this form in the nutritional supplementation of individuals with any condition involving the brain.

Bioavailability is a measure of how much of the dosage taken is available for use by the body. The higher the bioavailability, the less product needed to achieve the same blood level and clinical effects.  One study demonstrated that a specific ubiquinol product was absorbed five times better than a standard ubiquinone product (https://www.neuroneeds.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/CoQH_JFF-2009_KGK-STUDY.pdf). QNeeds® is a private label of exactly the same ubiquinol product used in the above study.

NeuroNeeds cannot determine what dosage level of QNeeds®, or any product, is appropriate in any individual.  It is recommended to discuss any dietary supplement, including QNeeds®, with your physician especially in the context of chronic disease and/or medications.  Many medical doctors practice therapeutic dosing coQ10 supplementation based on blood levels, adjusting the dose until the blood level is between 4.0 and 7.0 mg/L, which is substantially above the normal range.  Again, it is recommended to discuss any dietary supplement, including QNeeds®, with your physician especially in the context of chronic disease and/or medications. 

Yes, many medical doctors recommend attaining coQ10 blood levels for their patients.  CoQ10 may be measured in blood (serum or plasma), and this measurement reflects dietary intake and gut absorption rather than tissue status. It is thus useful to determine whether coQ10 supplementation is adequate. When supplementing with coQ10, note that the amount is usually quite low (100 mg) in most commercially-available supplements, and much higher dosages are generally required to arrive at a therapeutic level. Dosing should be discussed with your physician. 

Blood (serum or plasma) coQ10 level is a medical test offered by many laboratories, including Quest and LabCorp. Testing is best done two weeks after starting supplementation, in the morning before taking anything with coQ10 in it (food, QNeeds®, SpectrumNeeds®, EnergyNeeds®, etc.). Contact the laboratory well before arriving as there are special precautions and not all draw centers can correctly process this test. Some specialized centers measure coQ10 levels in cultured skin fibroblasts, muscle biopsies, and/or blood mononuclear cells, which are better indications of coQ10 deficiency states, but not necessarily of substantial routine help in patient management.

QNeeds® contains 60 softgels with the suggested daily dose of 1 softgel twice daily.  One container of QNeeds® would allow for a 30 day supply.  Note that much higher dosages are generally required to arrive at a therapeutic level. Dosing should be discussed with your physician. 

QNeeds® has a “shelf life” or expiration date of 2 years and is located on the bottom of each container.  Once opened, store QNeeds® in a cool dry place and keep QNeeds® away from warm, humid environments to help ensure effectiveness for longer periods after opening. 

If QNeeds® is exposed to heated environments, you may experience clumping of the softgels.  For example, our Research & Development (R&D) trials tested QNeeds® softgels overnight in a equatherm oven at 90° F.  The next day the softgels were somewhat soft and sticky but not leaking or completely clumped together.  We conducted the same trial but set the temperature for 100 ° F for 2 days and found that the softgels bricked up together and were unbreakable.

Yes, there are many relatively-inexpensive soy-based ubiquinol products on the market, as well as some high-priced limonene-based ubiquinol products, although the latter are more difficult to find. As QNeeds® has superior bioavailability (meaning less product need be purchased) and a low price, QNeeds® is actually competitively priced along with the bulk of the soy-based ubiquinol products. While ubiquinone products may be less expensive, the need for several times the dosage to achieve the same blood levels generally makes these products more expensive.

Adverse (side) effects are rare with coQ10. When they do occur, adverse effects are mild and reversible upon stopping/lowering the dose:

• A minority of individuals have sleep difficulty if coQ10 is provided at bedtime, which generally responds to moving the last dose earlier in the day.
• A minority of individuals are “hyper-energized”, which generally responds to dose reduction, and/or the addition of “calming” supplements (for one suggestion, see https://www.neuroneeds.com/product/calmneeds). Note that normal children often misbehave, and that increased mischief may be a reflection of a child with more energy and mental clarity trying new things.

Yes! While there is quite a lot of coQ10 in both products, it is in the ubiquinone form since ubiquinol is not stable and bioavailable in a powder form.  CoQ10 blood monitoring suggests that additional coQ10 may be recommended for many individuals taking SpectrumNeeds® or EnergyNeeds®.  Please note that it is recommended to discuss any dietary supplement, including QNeeds®, with your physician especially in the context of chronic disease and/or medications. 

Many people, especially small children, have difficulty swallowing medications. QNeeds® comes in sleek submarine-shaped flexible gel capsules, so swallowing is relatively easy. However, some people need a liquid preparation as they are unable to swallow.  One option is to cut the end off of QNeeds® with scissors, and squeeze out the contents into a teaspoon of your favorite cooking oil, such as olive oil. Next, flavor per taste, with some suggestions being adding to concentrated chocolate syrup or concentrated fruit juice. Smoothies are great ways to hide medication as well as to promote health.

Yes, coQ10 can be added to a G (gastrostomy) tube for direct administration into the stomach. Direct administration into the small intestine/jejunum (J or GJ tube) may decrease absorption, but is done by many families. There are liquid ubiquinol products on the market from a few other companies. Another option, which is often less expensive than liquid coQ10 products, is to cut the end off of QNeeds® with scissors, and squeeze out the contents into a teaspoon of your favorite cooking oil, such as olive oil.

Yes, purchase 12 or more containers of QNeeds® at neuroneeds.com, and watch the price per container drop substantially.

Many medical practitioners recommend genetic testing in patients with multiple functional or neurodevelopmental disorders, as many times such testing can be helpful in determining the underlying factors leading for disease in that individual, be it mitochondrial dysfunction, neurotransmitter disorders, channelopathy, axonal transport, and/or other mechanisms. Understanding these underlying factors often allows for targeting therapies. Even in patients with known mitochondrial disease, genetic testing can often identify factors leading to this disease that suggest specific therapies. For more information, see Dr. Boles’ private practice website at molecularmitomd.com.