Coenzyme Q10 plus Cholesterol Lowering Drug help improve heart function in diabetic patients

The cholesterol-lowering, triglyceride-lowering drug fenofibrate (Tricor) in combination with the popular supplement coenzyme Q10, or CoQ, appears to have beneficial effects for people with type 2 diabetes and mildly impaired heart function, researchers report. Fenofibrate works by inhibiting the formation of cholesterol and also improving its excretion. The drug also lowers VLDL and improves HDL levels and previous research indicates it decreases the risk of some cardiovascular events but did not decrease the risk of dying. Coenzyme is a supplement gaining a great deal of respect among cardiologists. CoQ10 improves energy production at the cellular level, improving the efficiency of aging and ill organs; both effects are why the supplement offers many dynamic benefits to hypertensive, cardiac, and diabetic patients.           
     "The results of this pilot study suggest that combined use of fenofibrate and CoQ could improve risk of cardiovascular disease in diabetic patients," Dr. Gerald F. Watts of the University of Western Australia, Perth told Reuters Health in an interview. The study involved 74 patients with diabetes and slightly reduced function of the main pumping chamber of the heart. Watts and colleagues assigned them to take either a combination of 160 milligrams of fenofibrate and 200 milligrams of CoQ daily, or either agent alone, or neither - just inactive but lookalike placebo.
     Neither of the singular treatments had a significant effect on heart function, the investigators report in the medical journal Diabetes Care. Combination treatment did, however, lead to a significant reduction in blood pressure, with a prominent effect during the night. Blood pressure should normally dip at night, but often doesn't in those with cardiovascular problems.
     The researchers conclude that the combination of fenofibrate and CoQ is beneficial without adverse effects. The study is published in the August 2008 issue of the journal Diabetes Care.

Arsenic exposure linked to type 2 diabetes
     Exposure to low-to-moderate levels of arsenic in drinking water and food may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, according to a study released Tuesday. The study found that individuals with diabetes had higher levels of arsenic in their urine compared to individuals without diabetes. High chronic exposure to inorganic arsenic is a documented risk factor for diabetes, but the effect of lower levels of exposure is unknown, Dr. Ana Navas-Acien, from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, and colleagues note in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
     The researchers examined urine samples taken from 788 U.S. adults 20 years or older. They found that subjects with type 2 diabetes had 26 percent higher total arsenic levels than subjects without diabetes. The likelihood of diabetes was more than 3.5-fold higher in subjects with higher urine arsenic levels relative to those with lower arsenic levels in urine.
     The primary sources of inorganic arsenic are contaminated drinking water due to naturally occurring arsenic in rocks and soils, and food, the researchers point out (arsenic is commonly added to the food for chickens to prevent parasitic infections). In the U.S., roughly 13 million people live in areas where the concentration of inorganic arsenic in the public water supply exceeds EPA-established standards, primarily in the West, Midwest and Northeast regions. Dietary intake of inorganic arsenic in the U.S. ranges from 8.4 to 14 micrograms per day for various age groups. The research is published in the August 20th, 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.