Date & Time: Feb 23, 2026, 17:00 CET

 

Coenzyme Q (CoQ) plays a central role in mitochondrial electron transport, antioxidant defence, and metabolic signalling pathways that are tightly linked to neuronal function and vulnerability. Primary CoQ deficiency due to pathogenic variants in COQ2 can lead to severe multisystem disease with prominent neurological involvement, highlighting the need for therapies that are mechanistically targeted and clinically actionable.,

 

In this Brain Metabolism Dialogue, Prof. Luis C. López (University of Granada) will open with a translational overview of CoQ biology in the brain and present preclinical results supporting 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (4-HBA) as a substrate-enhancement-based strategy to restore endogenous CoQ biosynthesis in COQ2 deficiency. Prof. Felix Distelmaier (University Hospital Düsseldorf) will then address the clinical translation, including patient phenotype and treatment considerations, and discuss how emerging evidence may shape clinical practice and the design of future studies.

 

Keynote speakers: Prof. Luis C. López and Prof. Felix Distelmaier

 

Deadline for registration: 23 February 2025, 13:00 Central European Time (CET)

 

The "Brain Metabolism Dialogues" webinar series is a joint initiative of the European Reference Network on Hereditary Metabolic Disorders (MetabERN) and the Society for the Study of Inborn Errors of Metabolism (SSIEM).