To better understand the importance of ATP, and the impact that low levels of ATP may have on the body, let's begin by getting a better understanding of what this substance is.

ATP, adenosine triphosphate, is the currency of energy in the cell. All activity in the cell that requires energy receives that energy from ATP which is obtained from the processing of glucose in the cell. (Muscle cells produce ATP from both glucose and fat.)

Many people are aware that the body uses glucose for energy, but that is not technically accurate. That would be like saying "automobile engines burn crude oil". Automobile engines burn gasoline, a product of refining crude oil. A simile can be made with glucose and crude oil. Glucose is the crude oil from which ATP, the cells gasoline, is derived after processing. It is the ATP that is then used by the cell for energy.

Any time a muscle cell needs to contract, for example while walking or picking up an object, the energy released from ATP energizes the activity. Many enzymes use ATP to energize activation. The sodium-potassium pump which we briefly mentioned earlier is an example of an enzyme that requires ATP to energize it. The processes that manufacture ATP even need ATP to energize it. The heat in the body is a result of energy, released from ATP, converted to heat.

Low Body Temperature:
People with fibromyalgia typically have a core body temperature one or two degrees lower than the accepted "normal" temperature of 98.6 degrees. Body temperature irregularities are usually suspect of thyroid problems. The thyroid is the bodies master thermostat controlling the bodies temperature. However, if you were to set the thermostat in your house to 98.6 degrees and there is not enough fuel in the furnace to heat the house, it does not matter what the thermostat is set at. The house will not reach the desired temperature setting of the thermostat. I believe that the low body temperature is a direct result of low ATP levels and the thyroid is not involved, unless maybe the thyroid has intentionally lowered body temperature to conserve ATP.

Sleep Difficulties:
Another symptom of fibromyalgia that may be directly affected by reduced ATP levels is the interrupted non-restorative sleep. Many people with fibromymyalgia report getting only 3 or 4 hours of interrupted sleep nightly. Some of the pages referenced in the links list below point to a possible connection to this inability to sleep and low adenosine levels. Lack of sleep may negatively effect hormone production, and hormone imbalances can create a number of problems of their own.

In the next few pages we will examine more closely the processes which convert glucose to ATP. Briefly, (as shown in the picture) ATP is created by attaching an inorganic phosphate (Pi) to a molecule of ADP, adenosine diphosphate. When this third phosphate group is removed from ATP, the molecule releases energy as it returns to its former states of separate ADP and Pi. It is this energy released from ATP that fuels the muscle and enzyme activity. The ADP and Pi are again available to be used to create new ATP.

To give you an idea just how much ATP is burned in a typical day (This is an almost unbelievable amount. note: 1 kilogram = 2.2 pounds).

Electron transport phosphorylation is the most impressive of all ATP-yielding mechanisms. Consider that an adult male uses up about 2,800 kilocalories of energy during a normal day's activities, and that about 150 kilograms of ATP are needed daily to provide this much energy. However, there is only about 0.005 kilogram of ATP in the entire body at any one time! The body makes up the difference by repeatedly phosphorylating ADP, many thousands of times a day.
BIOLOGY; The unity and diversity of life, Starr and Taggart, pg. 127

Even if you were bedridden for twenty-four hours, your cells would turn over about forty kilograms of ATP molecules simply for routine maintenance.
BIOLOGY; The unity and diversity of life, Starr and Taggart, pg. 106

If a cell ever ran completely out of ATP it would probably die. Not to worry, control mechanisms in the cell will not allow that to happen. ATP is not available from sources outside the cell; The only ATP that the cell has available for its use is the ATP that is produced within its own walls from glucose. The processes that manufacture ATP in the cell need ATP to energize, or activate, the process. So if a cell ran completely out of ATP, theoretically, it would not have the energy needed to power the processes that produce ATP. We will examine these processes shortly.

Related Links

Lack Of Sleep Alters Hormones, Metabolism

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