The Possible Protective Role of Coenzyme Q10 against Simvastatin Induced Gastrocnemius and Diaphragmatic muscles toxicity in Adult Male Albino Rats: Light and Electron microscopic Study

Background: Statins are powerful drugs that have cholesterol concentration lowering impact. But statins can cause skeletal muscles complaints that vary from mild myalgia to deadly rhabdomyolysis. The thoracic diaphragm is a sheet of skeletal muscle with internal striation. The safety of statins on skeletal muscles including diaphragm as a respiratory muscle remains questionable Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a naturally occurring chemical substance that is naturally present in most living cells. It serves as mitochondrial respiratory chain's electron carrier. The current study set out to assess the possible protective impact of exogenous Coq10 administration on the potential histological alterations in the rat diaphragmatic and gastrocnemius muscles induced by simvastatin. Materials and Methods: forty mature male rats were split equally into four groups; control group, CoQ10 group treated with CoQ10, Simvastatin-treated rats, the simvastatin +CoQ10 rats received both simvastatin and CoQ10 daily a period of 4 weeks. Rat animals were slaughtered, and the blood sample was obtained to assess creatine kinase (CK) concentration. Right gastrocnemius and diaphragmatic muscles samples were excised to be prepared for light and electron microscopic examination. Results: Simvastatin therapy was associated with rise in CK concentration and histopathological alterations, including muscle architecture disarray in the form of disappearance of transverse striations and separation of myofibril. Conclusion: Exogenous CoQ10 administration mitigated degenerative alterations in both skeletal and diaphragmatic muscles triggered by statins.