Major depression and low Coenzyme Q10

Brain inflammation and oxidative stress are important aspects of the biological component of major depression. The authors of this interesting paper recently published in the journal Neuro Endocrinology Letters state that "There is now evidence that major depression is accompanied by an induction of inflammatory and oxidative and nitrosative stress (IO&NS) pathways and by a lowered antioxidant status. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a strong antioxidant that has anti-inflammatory effects." They go on to report "We found that plasma CoQ10 was significantly (p=0.0002) lower in depressed patients than in normal controls," and note a particularly strong correlation in those with treatment resistant depression (TRD)  or chronic fatigue (CFS). They find "The results show that lower CoQ10 plays a role in the pathophysiology of depression and in particular in TRD and CFS accompanying depression." Interestingly, they conclude with an observation that links the cholesterol lowering statin drugs to the risk of depression: "Since statins significantly lower plasma CoQ10, depressed patients and in particular those with TRD and CFS represent populations at risk to statin treatment."