{
  "abstract": "Background/Objectives: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a multifactorial neurodegenerative disorder characterized by interconnected pathological processes including mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, impaired autophagic processes, neuroinflammation, neuronal degeneration, and progressive functional decline. Natural health products (NHPs), coenzyme-Q10 (CoQ10) and Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) (ASH), have been previously reported to possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, mitochondrial-supportive, neuroprotective, and neurotrophic properties. This work investigates the neuroprotective effects of a bioavailability-enhanced formulation, Ubisol-Q10 (UQ), and ethanolic ASH extract, combined as a “Tonic,” across multiple domains of AD pathology. Methods: The effects of long-term administration were evaluated in male and female 5XFAD mice from 2.5 to 11 months of age. Longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging assessed hippocampal and white matter volumes, a frailty index assessed physiological resilience, Novel Object and Novel Location Recognition testing assessed spatial and non-spatial memory, while post-mortem Nissl, Golgi–Cox, and immunofluorescence evaluated cellular density, dendritic morphology, amyloid pathology, neuroinflammation, autophagy-associated signaling, and astrocytic activity. Results: Across these measures, Tonic treatment preserved brain volumes, reduced amyloid pathology and inflammation, and modulated autophagy-associated pathways. Treatment also preserved dendritic architecture, frailty progression, and novelty-recognition behavior. Females demonstrated particularly pronounced preservation of white matter structure and increased dendritic density, whereas males showed strong modulation of inflammatory and autophagy-associated markers. Astrocytic immunoreactivity also demonstrated sex- and region-specific patterns, suggesting that glial responses may contribute differently to structural preservation in males and females. Conclusions: Together, these findings support that UQ + ASH may provide diverse protection against AD neurodegeneration. The observed sex-specific responses emphasize the importance of incorporating sex into preclinical evaluation of novel interventions for neurodegenerative diseases.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, ON N9B 3P4, Canada",
    "Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, ON N9B 3P4, Canada",
    "Department of Biomedical Science, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, ON N9B 3P4, Canada",
    "Department of Psychology, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, ON N9B 3P4, Canada"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 9,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Keanna Dube",
      "orcid": "0009-0001-9186-1732"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Alex Stoinescu",
      "orcid": "0009-0005-3755-313X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Julia Sadler",
      "orcid": "0009-0001-6038-5104"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Michelle Truong"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Natasha Malakoti-Negad",
      "orcid": "0009-0005-2326-9189"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Maira Chaudhry"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Rohan Talukdar",
      "orcid": "0009-0002-6704-6081"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Jerome Cohen",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-2787-2883"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Siyaram Pandey",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-7273-7154"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9drx8x1fmmf03.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/nu18193270",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13667026/?tool=EBI",
  "id": "9drx8x1fmmf03",
  "issns": [
    "2072-6643"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13667026",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2737|Alzheimer's disease research and treatments"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7220390355",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13667026/pdf/?tool=EBI",
  "pmcid": "PMC13667026",
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-01",
  "publisher": "MDPI AG",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9drx8x1fmmf03.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:35Z",
      "native_id": "PMC:PMC13667026",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13667026"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:56Z",
      "native_id": "10.3390/nu18193270",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/19/3270"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2737|Alzheimer's disease research and treatments",
      "subfield": "physiology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Multidimensional Neuroprotective Effects of Combined Ubisol-Q10 and Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) in Male and Female 5XFAD Mice",
  "title_text": "Multidimensional Neuroprotective Effects of Combined Ubisol-Q10 and Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) in Male and Female 5XFAD Mice",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:19:56Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9drx8x1fmmf03",
  "venue": "Nutrients",
  "versions": []
}