D-Ribose Boosts Energy

BOCA RATON, Fla.Ribose, anaturally occurring pentose carbohydrate and component of the energy moleculeadenosine triphosphate (ATP), enhances high-energy phosphates and improvesdiastolic dysfunction following myocardial ischemia, according to new researchpresented at a meeting of the Heart Failure Society of America.

In the two-center study, researchers administered 5g/d ribose(as CORvalen, from Bioenergy) to 23 congestive heart failure (CHF) patientsranked in New York Heart Association (NYHA) Classes II-IV. Cardiopulmonary exercise tests using a four-minute sub-maximalstep protocol were completed and a retrospective analysis was performed afterthe eight-week routine clinical visit.Ventilatory efficiency (Veff) was assessedup to the anaerobic threshold at baseline and after eight weeks of ribosesupplementation.

D-ribose significantly improved Veff in patient Classes IIIand IV, with a trend towards improvement in Class II patients. Oxygen uptakeefficiency demonstrated a strong trend in Classes III and IV.

As cardiologists know, CHF patients have decreased levelsof myocardial high-energy compounds contributing to myocardial dysfunction,said John St. Cyr, M.D., Ph.D., medical director for Bioenergy Inc., whichhelped organize the study. Further, advanced class CHF patients havecompromised oxygen utilization efficiency, or Veff, as it is often referred to.This limits their exercise reserve even during sub-maximal exertion. After usingD-ribose for eight weeks the patients in this study demonstrated a significantimprovement in Veff, the most powerful predictor of survival in CHF patients.

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