D-Ribose is a type of sugar that was recently used in a study to treat symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia. In this study the patients were given 5 grams every 8 hours and it significantly improved the symptoms in 2/3 of the patients it was given to. It took an average of 19 days to achieve these improvements according to the study.
I usually only write about treatments that i have tried, but since ive never heard of this treatment before, i thought i would write about it just to let people know. There were some questions about this study because it didnt have a control group. But i also know that D-Ribose is a component of ATP and Nadh which are both important for energy metabolism. Im guessing that it could help the subgroup that would respond to NADH (Enada) supplementation. But you can find it online at a reasonable price, so it might be worth a try. And if you try it remember to take 5 grams per day and that it took 19 days for the effects to be apparent.
For more info, search immunesupport.com. A number of CFS Docs are trying this.
I don’t believe Ribose is a part of ATP, but works as part of the Krebs Cycle, which ultimately generates ATP. Don’t quote me on this. I would need to check the articles to be more precise.
One reasone there are so many suggested supplements for ATP is that the Kreb Cycle uses 100’s of different “elements” to function. One, well known tot the CFS community, Co-Q 10.
I have used Ribose, and it has not helped me, but it may help you. My lay opinion, is this has a better chance to help, because it is a pure sugar, which is quickly broken down and metabolzied, thus the potential to provide better kick to ATP.
My 2 cents…. or should I say $20 dollars, worth, as a 15 year suffer of CFS.
David