Effect of coenzyme Q10 evaluated by 1990 and 2010 ACR Diagnostic Criteria for Fibromyalgia and SCL-90-R: Four case reports and literature review

Recently, Coenzyme Q(10) (CoQ(10)) deficiency has been implicated in the pathophysiology of fibromyalgia (FM). It is our objective to present the findings of the FM evaluation before and after oral CoQ(10) treatment using the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Diagnostic Criteria of 1990 and 2010, and Symptom Checklist-Revised (Scl-90-R). Four patients with FM were examined using the trigger points, the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire, visual analog scale (pain, fatigue, and sleep), Widespread Pain Index, symptom severity scale, and Scl-90-R. Previously, CoQ(10) contents from patients were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. All patients showed CoQ(10) deficiency. All patients meet the ACR 1990 and 2010 criteria. After treatment, all patients showed an important improvement in clinical symptoms in all evaluation methods. According to our results, and evaluated by three methods, patients with FM are candidates for treatment with CoQ(10). However, more controlled clinical trials and investigations are needed to clarify the precise mechanism(s) by which CoQ(10) may contribute in pathological and therapeutic processes of FM and to provide data on its effectiveness in FM. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.