Hematopoietic activity of hexahydrocoenzyme Q4 in the monkey

The anemia of vitamin E deficiency in swine: an experimental model of the human congenital dyserythropoietic anemias

The ultrastructural and erythrokinetic characteristics of vitamin E deficiency in swine were investigated in an effort to evaluate the suitability of the swine disorder as a model of the human congenital dyserythropoietic anemias. The dominant erythrokinetic abnormality in vitamin E deficient pigs, as in the CDAs, is ineffective erythropoiesis. As in some patients with CDA, the activity of a number of erythrocyte enzymes was increased. Distinctive ultrastructual changes previously described in patients with CDA were found in normoblasts from vitamin E deficient pigs. The morphologic, erythrokinetic, biochemical and ultrastructural similarities between vitamin E deficiency in swine and the CDAs in man appear to justify the study of the animal disorder as a model of the human disease. A complete hematologic response was elicited by the administration not only of vitamin E, but also, as in the previous studies of vitamin E deficiency in monkeys, by hexahydrocoenzyme Q4. The partial hematologic response occurring after deletion of tocopherol stripped corn oil from the diet indicates that factors other than the dietary lack of vitamin E are important in the pathogenesis of this disorder.

Deficiency of coenzyme Q 10 in gingival tissue from patients with periodontal disease

The specific activities of the succinate dehydrogenase-coenzyme Q(10) reductase in gingival tissue from patients with periodontal disease have been compared with the corresponding specific activities of normal human periodontal tissue. The gingival biopsies from patients having diseased periodontal tissue showed a deficiency of coenzyme Q(10), in contrast to those of the normal periodontal tissue which showed no deficiency. The presence or absence of a deficiency of coenzyme Q(10) in the succinate-coenzyme Q(10) enzyme system is appraised by determining the specific activity in the absence and again in the presence of exogenous coenzyme Q(3). An increase in specific activity of this mitochondrial enzyme system in the presence of exogenous coenzyme Q(3) reflects the mitochondrial deficiency of coenzyme Q(10). Such increases ranged from 38-120% and averaged 81% for the individuals with periodontal disease, and were highly significant statistically. These data correlate with clinical studies in Japan that have indicated a therapeutic benefit of the administration of coenzyme Q(7) to many patients with severe and destructive periodontal disease and with the benefit of administration of hexahydrocoenzyme Q(4) to one such patient in the current work.