Objectives-The objective of these studies was to determine the efficacy of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ 10) and α-lipoic acid (α-LA), either alone or in combination, to protect the contractile responses of the rabbit urinary bladder from damage caused by repetitive stimulation in the presence or absence of in vitro ischemia.Methods-Four groups of New Zealand White rabbits (N=4 per group) were treated with vehicle (group 1), CoQ 10 (group 2), α-LA (group 3), or CoQ 10 + α-LA (group 4) for 2 weeks. At the end of the treatment period, eight longitudinal strips from each rabbit bladder body were placed in oxygenated Tyrode's solution with glucose (normal physiological medium). Strips were stimulated by field stimulation (FS), carbachol, and KCl, and the responses were recorded. One half the strips were switched for 1 hour to Tyrode's with no glucose equilibrated with nitrogen (ischemia medium). Simultaneously, all strips were subjected to 1 h of repetitive FS (RS) followed by 1 h of recovery in normal physiological medium and the responses to all stimuli were recorded again.Results-CoQ 10 showed no protective effect. α-LA resulted in increased contractile responses of the control bladder and showed a moderate protective effect for all forms of stimulation. The combination however, showed a significantly greater increased in the contraction of control bladder and a greater protective effect than α-LA alone Conclusion-The combination of α-LA and CoQ10 treatment both enhanced contractile response in normal medium, and diminished contractile dysfunction induced by RS and ischemia.