Coenzyme Q10 be measured in blood plasma, these measurements reflect dietary intake rather than tissue status. Currently, most clinical centers measure CoQ levels in cultured skin fibroblasts, muscle biopsies, and blood mononuclear cells. Culture fibroblasts can be used also to evaluate the rate of endogenous CoQ biosynthesis, by measuring the uptake of C-labelled "p"-hydroxybenzoate. CoQ shares a biosynthetic pathway with cholesterol. The synthesis of an intermediary precursor of CoQ, mevalonate, is inhibited by some beta blockers, blood pressure-lowering medication, and statins, a class of cholesterol-lowering drugs. Statins can reduce serum levels of CoQ by up to 40%. CoQ is not approved by
Discovery and development of statins 3R,5R stereochemistry. The statins differ with respect to their ring structure and substituents. These differences in structure affect the pharmacological properties of the statins, such as: Statins have sometimes been grouped into two groups of statins according to their structure. Type 1 statins Statins that have substituted decalin-ring structure that resemble the first statin ever discovered, mevastatin have often been classified as type 1 statins due to their structural relationship. Statins that belong to this group are: Type 2 statins Statins that are fully synthetic and have larger groups linked to the HMG-like moiety are often referred to as type