Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS): An Overview

Abstract

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a chronic systemic disease that manifests via various symptoms such as chronic fatigue, post-exertional malaise, and cognitive impairment described as “brain fog”. These symptoms often prevent patients from keeping up their pre-disease onset lifestyle, as extended periods of physical or mental activity become almost impossible. However, the disease presents heterogeneously with varying severity across patients. Therefore, consensus criteria have been designed to provide a diagnosis based on symptoms. To date, no biomarker-based tests or diagnoses are available, since the molecular changes observed also largely differ from patient to patient. In this review, we discuss the infectious, genetic, and hormonal components that may be involved in CFS pathogenesis, we scrutinize the role of gut microbiota in disease progression, we highlight the potential of non-coding RNA (ncRNA) for the development of diagnostic tools and briefly mention the possibility of SARS-CoV-2 infection causing CFS.

COVID-19 Pandemic-Revealed Consistencies and Inconsistencies in Healthcare: A Medical and Organizational View

“…There is also the view that despite the similarities between the symptoms of long-COVID patients and ME/CFS, further evidence is required to list COVID-19 among the infections associated with ME/CFS. Additional investigations with longer follow-ups, more uniform criteria for ME/CFS diagnosis, including both in- and out-patients with infections of different severity, and a control group of people affected by other infections are required to better characterize risk factors, prevalence, and progression of long-COVID ME/CFS-like features, and to design specific interventions and treatments [ 25 ].…”

“…The reviews’ results highlight problems associated with the ME/CFS, long-COVID-19, and post-COVID syndrome definitions, and classification criteria [ 23 , 24 , 26 ]. There are various manifestations of the interaction between COVID-19 and ME/CFS, from the similarity of the symptoms [ 21 , 25 , 26 ], also with reserved view [ 22 ], to the ME/CFS as a consequence of PASC [ 23 , 24 ], and the assumption that it is the same disease [ 27 ]. At the same time, all publications indicate the need for further research into the similarities and differences between post-COVID-19 and ME/CFS, to determine the natural history of this condition, as well as to define risk factors, prevalence, and possible interventions [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ].…”

Molecular Mechanisms of Neuroinflammation in ME/CFS and Long COVID to Sustain Disease and Promote Relapses

“…Studies have shown ongoing immune dysfunction in ME/CFS patients, both in the blood borne immune cells ( 43 ) and in the immune regulator molecules (cytokines) that they export ( 44 , 45 ). It is commonly stated the ME/CFS patients' immune systems are chronically activated or in “overdrive” ( 46 ). These studies above have shown cytokine signatures characteristic of the severity of the disease that are mainly proinflammatory.…”

Male vs. Female Differences in Responding to Oxygen–Ozone Autohemotherapy (O2-O3-AHT) in Patients with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)

“…Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a complex pathology, and was recently reviewed in [ 1 ]. ME/CFS must be considered a serious and long-term syndrome, which is characterized by fatigue and debilitating muscular–skeletal pain, conditions that affect many fundamental aspects of people’s social habits [ 2 , 3 , 4 ].…”