Figure 3. Treatment with daily oral D-ribose did not improve mouse body weight, grip strength and open field behavioral activity.

Data from four treatment groups are shown: Healthy untreated mice (H, n = 8), healthy mice given daily oral D-ribose (H+Rib, n = 7), untreated myositis mice (HT, n = 6), and myositis mice given daily oral D-ribose (HT +Rib, n = 8). The body weight for all animals was measured at 16 weeks of age (A). Thoracic limb grip strength for all animals was measured over 5 days and normalized to body weight (B). Mouse voluntary movement in an open field was measured as movement in an hour averaged over 5 days. Horizontal motion measured how many times an infrared beam was broken in the open field (C). Distance traveled was measured by how many centimeters each mouse moved (D). Vertical movements indicate the number of times each mouse stood upright (E). Overall, the onset of myositis resulted in a significant loss of body weight, while grip strength measurement did not discriminate well between groups. Treatment with ribose showed no beneficial effect on any of the measured parameters.