May 2, 2011

Effects of the reduced form of CoQ10 （Ubiquinol）on physical activity and mental
health in middle-aged and elderly women
―Collaborative research with Waseda University and Tsukuba University ―

Kaneka Corporation（headquarters: Osaka, Japan; President: Mr. Kimikazu Sugawara） confirmed the effects of the reduced form of CoQ10 (Ubiquinol) to improve the daily physical activity and the mental health in middle-aged and elderly women. The study was conducted in collaboration with Dr. Kazuhiro Shimizu, an assistant professor of the Faculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University and a research fellow of Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba. The findings were presented in "The 21st Annual Meeting of Japanese Society of Clinical Sports Medicine" held in the Tsukuba International Congress Center on November 6th and 7th, 2010.

Kaneka Corporation reported in 2008 that Ubiquinol administration (100mg/day for 6 months) helped to improve the fatigue and the depression level in elderly people in the open label study conducted in collaboration with Tokyo Women’s Medical University.

Forty-six healthy female subjects (average age 63.7±1.7 years old) were allocated randomly into the two groups of Ubiquinol (23 subjects) and placebo (23 subjects), and daily took Ubiquinol (150mg/day) or placebo for 8 weeks. Before and after the treatment, the daily step count and consumed energy were measured for 2 weeks using a pedometer- instrument. In addition, physical and mental health states were measured by using SF-36 * Health Survey.

*SF-36 Health Survey (MOS 36-item Short Form Health Survey) is a scientific standard with reliability and validity to measure QOL (Quality of Life) as it is related to health. QOL evaluates both the physical and mental health of the patient. SF-36 was developed in the United States, translated and used internationally and widely in more than 120 countries.

As a result, the eight-week treatment with Ubiquinol showed significant improvement in the step count which reflects physical activity and in the mental health scores by using SF-36 (22% and 10%, respectively, compared before the treatment). There was no improvement in physical health evaluated by SF-36. However, it is considered that physical health would be improved in long term treatment, because the physical activity evaluated by pedometer-like instrument showed significant effect. The improvements of mental health (such as, the fatigue, the depression level, etc.) and the activity in elderly people are also expected to contribute to the reduction in work load for the care of the elderly.