RIBOSE OFFERS NEW HOPE OF IMPROVED FUNCTIONAL CAPACITY FOR CHF PATIENTS
MINNEAPOLIS, October 12, 2006—Finally, patients who suffer from congestive heart failure (CHF) appear to have an effective means of improving their quality of life. A recent study indicates NYHA Class III-IV CHF patients receiving an oral D-ribose supplement in conjunction with standard medical therapy exhibit measurable improvement in ventilation, exercise capacity, and oxygen uptake efficiency. Nampalli Vijay, M.D., Dean MacCarter, Ph.D and Melinda Washam, M.S. led the study and presented their findings September 12, 2006 at the Heart Failure Society of America’s 10th Annual Scientific Meeting in Seattle, Washington.
MacCarter went on to say, "Ribose is a nutritional food that can safely be given to our patients to help them improve their functional capacity and quality of the life."
By enhancing their breathing efficiency, ribose improves exercise tolerance in CHF patients, helping them lead a more active life.
* Karl Weber, Joseph Janicki. Cardiopulnonary. Exercise Testing: Physiologic Prinicples and Clinical Applications. 1986. W.B. Saunders Co.
Bioenergy Inc. is a privately held, Minneapolis-based life sciences company whose core technology lies in the development and commercialization of products based on the physiological benefits of D-ribose in health and wellness. Bioenergy's clear mission is to develop products that increase the quality of its customers' lives by improving their metabolic health. Bioenergy Life Science, Inc., its subsidiary, markets ribose-based products to the functional food and clinical nutrition markets. Bioenergy Life Science products include Bioenergy RIBOSETM, a functional ingredient in the active lifestyle market; Corvalen®, and CorvalenM®, clinical nutrition products giving metabolic support to patients with heart and muscle disease.
Because ventilatory efficiency is widely recognized as a powerful predictor of survival among patients with CHF, the beneficial addition of D-ribose to standard treatment regimens offers an exciting new option to CHF patients, as well as the doctors who treat them. Improvement in ventilatory (or respiratory) efficiency for these patients can lead to improvement in exercise capacity, dyspnea (shortness of breath) and functional capacity.
D-Ribose is a naturally occurring monosaccharide the body uses to stimulate the synthesis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), an essential energy compound. ATP is critical to health and maintaining normal energy-dependent body functions. Ribose is the essential component in the making of ATP.
"The information presented supported earlier work showing that ribose is an effective adjunctive therapy in treating CHF," said Dr. MacCarter. "Ribose administration offers a metabolic approach that is not found in any cardiovascular drug or bioactive compound. No other treatment really focuses on the depleted level of ATP typical of heart failure patients. It’s possible that D-ribose could open the door to another treatment option because it addresses the energy depletion known to exist in heart failure patients."
The recent study took place at the Aurora Denver Cardiology Associates, Denver, Colorado, where researchers followed sixteen CHF patients who consumed ribose daily for eight weeks. In the end, the patients demonstrated a significant improvement in sub-maximal exercise performance, and of the sixteen, 44% demonstrated a positive Weber functional class* shift with ribose supplementation. This improvement in Weber classification means patients may experience a better quality of life and be able to function more effectively in performing their day-to-day activities.
"Improved functional capacity translates directly to quality of life [in CHF patients]," said Dr. MacCarter. "They’ll go through their days easier when ribose is used along with their standard therapy. It’s an adjunctive approach with great promise in CHF."
