Teitelbaum, Jacob E, Johnson, Clarence, St Cyr, John · Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.) · 2006 · DOI
Researchers gave 41 patients with ME/CFS or fibromyalgia a natural sugar called D-ribose to see if it could help their symptoms. Two-thirds of patients reported feeling noticeably better, with improvements in energy, sleep, mental clarity, pain, and overall well-being. The supplement was well-tolerated with no serious side effects reported.
Energy metabolism dysfunction is a proposed mechanism in ME/CFS, making interventions targeting cellular ATP synthesis of interest. This study provides preliminary evidence that D-ribose may offer symptomatic benefit across multiple key domains affected by ME/CFS, warranting further investigation.
This study does not prove D-ribose is an effective treatment because it lacks a placebo control group, making it impossible to distinguish true drug effects from placebo response. The open-label design also introduces bias, as patients' expectations could influence symptom reporting. Additionally, a small pilot study cannot establish safety or efficacy for general use.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Teitelbaum, Jacob E, Johnson, Clarence, & St Cyr, John (2006). The use of D-ribose in chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia: a pilot study.. Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.). https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2006.12.857
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-teitelbaum-2006-use-ribose,
author = {Teitelbaum, Jacob E and Johnson, Clarence and St Cyr, John},
title = {The use of D-ribose in chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia: a pilot study.},
journal = {Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.)},
year = {2006},
doi = {10.1089/acm.2006.12.857},
note = {PubMed: 17109576},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/teitelbaum-2006-use-ribose},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/teitelbaum-2006-use-ribose
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