Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), even at very low doses, improves fertility in both women and men
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Once again, the role of metabolism in aspects of health considered completely non-metabolic in nature is being highlighted. Namely, human fertility. Most of the fertility clinics focus on structural issues in infertile couples, and if none are found but infertility still persists, the clinic would attempt IVF or suggest sperm/egg donors. Some clinics administer hormone-like treatments, but those are also quite misguided, usually in the forum of SERM drugs such as clomiphene, which often do more harm than good. I know several people where the female had undetectable AMH levels or the male had total testosterone levels below 400, both of which are known to preclude successful pregnancy, yet none of those cases caught the attention of the fertility doctors. They simply kept pumping the females full of clomiphene and proceeded to do several rounds of IVF, all of them unsuccessful. When those couples took some aspirin and progesterone/DHEA in combination, all of them were able to beget a child within a few weeks, much to the dismay of the doctors. While the pro-fertility role of steroids such as progesterone and DHEA is well-known, the fact that aspirin was also able to help with pregnancy was a complete mystery to both the doctors and the couples (some of who were also medical doctors). The study below may offer some explanation as to why aspirin worked. Aside from being an anti-inflammatory substance, aspirin is also highly pro-metabolic. The study below reports that another molecule with purely pro-metabolic effect may be able to improve fertility in both sexes, even when taken at very low doses. Namely, the study reports that CoQ10 was able to improve fertility when taken at doses as low as 30mg daily. For the record, the vast majority of studies with humans do not use CoQ10 doss below 50mg daily and, in fact, often uses hundreds of milligrams (mg) daily. The sole known role of CoQ10 in human physiology is as an electron carrier in the electron transport chain (ETC), helping carry electrons (derived from food) from Complex I & II to Complex III or said ETC. As such, administration of CoQ10 increases OXPHOS and thus the overall metabolic rate. Now, since CoQ10 is a quinone, it is plausible that other quinone molecules such as methylene blue, emodin, vitamin K, tetracycline antibiotics, etc would also be able to improve fertility. Indeed, there are multiple studies with each of those other quinones demonstrating pro-fertility effects. And if taking those quinones, or even CoQ10, seems risky to people then just a couple of tablets of humble aspirin daily may also be able to do the trick, and that has already been corroborated by other studies and my own experience with infertile couples.
https://sciforschenonline.org/journals/gynaecology-womens-health/GWHR125.php
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/health/study-offers-hope-infertile-couples-34415168
“…Enzyme Q10, also known as CoQ10, could improve female egg quality, fertilisation, markers of sperm quality as well as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) symptoms and hormone levels which can impact fertility…It found women undergoing IVF treatment that took 30mg capsules for eight weeks before treatment had a “significantly higher number of eggs retrieved” compared to women taking no supplements. One of the studies following 169 women with poor ovarian reserves revealed 200mg of CoQ10 three times a day for 60 days before IVF increased the number of eggs retrieved and had a higher fertilisation rate too.”