ubiquinone and Hypogonadism

Muscle mass is important for health. Decreased testicular androgen production (hypogonadism) contributes to the loss of muscle mass, with loss of limb muscle being particularly debilitating. Androgen replacement is the only pharmacological treatment, which may not be feasible for everyone. Prior work showed that markers of reactive oxygen species and markers of mitochondrial degradation pathways were higher in the limb muscle following castration. Therefore, we tested whether an antioxidant preserved limb muscle mass in male mice subjected to a castration surgery. Subsets of castrated mice were treated with resveratrol (a general antioxidant) or MitoQ (a mitochondria targeted antioxidant). Relative to the non-castrated control mice, lean mass, limb muscle mass, and grip strength were partially preserved only in castrated mice treated with MitoQ. Independent of treatment, markers of mitochondrial degradation pathways remained elevated in all castrated mice. Therefore, a mitochondrial targeted antioxidant may partially preserve limb muscle mass in response to hypogonadism.

Topics: Animals; Antioxidants; Disease Models, Animal; Drug Delivery Systems; Hand Strength; Hypogonadism; Male; Mice; Mitochondria; Mitochondria, Muscle; Muscle, Skeletal; Orchiectomy; Organophosphorus Compounds; Resveratrol; Ubiquinone

Two brothers had late-onset progressive ataxia, cerebellar atrophy, and hypergonadotropic hypogonadism associated with coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) deficiency in skeletal muscle. Both patients improved on high-dose CoQ10 supplementation, stressing the importance of CoQ10 deficiency in the differential diagnosis of cerebellar ataxia, even when onset is late.

Topics: Adult; Age of Onset; Cerebellar Ataxia; Coenzymes; Diagnosis, Differential; Humans; Hypogonadism; Male; Middle Aged; Mitochondrial Encephalomyopathies; Muscle, Skeletal; Siblings; Ubiquinone