Long COVID overlap with ME/CFS
A group of researchers from around the world have joined together to analyse long COVID’s symptom overlap with ME/CFS.
Highlights
- Serious side effects and post-infection sequelae have been reported in SARS-CoV-2-infected patients after acute disease phase.
- Long-COVID patient characteristics and symptoms were compared to myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).
- The onset, progression, and symptom profile of long-COVID patients have considerable overlap with ME/CFS.
- Longitudinal monitoring of COVID-19 patients is warranted to understand the virus long-term effects.
Analysis of post COVID-19 condition and its overlap with myalgic encephalomyelitis/
chronic fatigue syndrome, by Olga A Sukocheva, Rebekah Maksoud, Narasimha M Beeraka, SabbaRao V Madhunapantula, Mikhail Sinelnikov, Vladimir N Nikolenko, Margarita E Neganova, Sergey G Klochkov, Mohammad Amjad Kamali, Donald R Staines, Sonya Marshall-Gradisnik in Journal of Advanced Research, Volume 40, September 2022, Pages 179-196 [doi.org/10.1016/j.jare.2021.11.013] Preprint Nov 2021
Research abstract
Background
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) disease (COVID-19) triggers the development of numerous pathologies and infection-linked complications and exacerbates existing pathologies in nearly all body systems. Aside from the primarily targeted respiratory organs, adverse SARS-CoV-2 effects were observed in nervous, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal/metabolic, immune, and other systems in COVID-19 survivors. Long-term effects of this viral infection have been recently observed and represent distressing sequelae recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a distinct clinical entity defined as post-COVID-19 condition. Considering the pandemic is still ongoing, more time is required to confirm post COVID-19 condition diagnosis in the COVID-19 infected cohorts, although many reported post COVID-19 symptoms overlap with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).
Aims of Review
In this study, COVID-19 clinical presentation and associated post-infection sequelae (post-COVID-19 condition) were reviewed and compared with ME/CFS symptomatology.
Key Scientific Concepts of Review
The onset, progression, and symptom profile of post COVID-19 condition patients have considerable overlap with ME/CFS. Considering the large scope and range of pro-inflammatory effects of this virus, it is reasonable to expect development of post COVID-19 clinical complications in a proportion of the affected population. There are reports of a later debilitating syndrome onset three months post COVID-19 infection (often described as long-COVID-19), marked by the presence of fatigue, headache, cognitive dysfunction, post-exertional malaise, orthostatic intolerance, and dyspnoea. Acute inflammation, oxidative stress, and increased levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha), have been reported in SARS-CoV-2 infected patients.
Longitudinal monitoring of post COVID-19 patients is warranted to understand the long-term effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection and the pathomechanism of post COVID-19 condition.
