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AbstractRibose was added to the existing treatment regimen of a woman with fibromyalgia, resulting in a decrease in symptoms. It has been postulated that patients with fibromyalgia may have an alteration in muscle adenine nucleotide metabolism, leading to depleted energy reserves and an imbalance in cellular
adenosine-triphosphate:adenosine 5'-diphosphate:adenosine 5'-monophosphate (ATP:ADP:AMP) ratios with an abnormal energy charge. As a key component in adenine nucleotide synthesis, ribose supplementation may be useful in such patients....
DiscussionTheoretically, the effect of ribose on increasing the muscle energy pool could reduce the metabolic strain in affected muscles and allow patients to assume a more active lifestyle. Considering the known musculoskeletal symptomatology in this syndrome and the reported benefits of ribose in skeletal muscle metabolism and physiology, supplemental ribose appears to have aided our patient in improving her quality of life....
Conclusion Fibromyalgia presents a continuing therapeutic challenge. Ribose is a naturally occurring carbohydrate with documented medical benefits in patients with cardiovascular disease. To our knowledge, this is the first report to suggest its potential benefit in a patient with fibromyalgia, who had had suboptimal results with conventional therapies. We are designing a trial using objective outcome measures to further evaluate the effectiveness of this product in patients with fibromyalgia.