The pathological defect in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome is slow recycling of ATP. Normally there is enough ATP in a heart cell to last about ten beats - this means that roughly speaking ATP needs to be re-cycled every ten seconds. Top athletes like Steve Redgrave probably recycle ATP every five seconds, but patients with fatigue syndromes may only be able to recycle ATP every minute. Therefore I can do in ten seconds what Steve Redgrave can do in five seconds, but it might take one of my fatigue syndrome patients a minute to achieve the same.

• FORMULA :C5H10O5 
• MOALR MASS : 150.13 g/mol 
• IUPAS ID : D-Ribose 
• MELTING POINT :95 °C 
• APPEARNCE :white solid