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Our Evolving Understanding of ME/CFS

The potential benefits of the scientific insights gleaned from years of treating ME/CFS for the emerging symptoms of COVID-19, and in particular Longhaul- or Longhauler-COVID-19 are discussed in this opinion article. Longhaul COVID-19 is the current name being given to the long-term sequelae (sympto...

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Autores principales: Friedman, Kenneth J., Murovska, Modra, Pheby, Derek F. H., Zalewski, Paweł
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7996879/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33652622
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/medicina57030200
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author Friedman, Kenneth J.
Murovska, Modra
Pheby, Derek F. H.
Zalewski, Paweł
author_facet Friedman, Kenneth J.
Murovska, Modra
Pheby, Derek F. H.
Zalewski, Paweł
author_sort Friedman, Kenneth J.
collection PubMed
description The potential benefits of the scientific insights gleaned from years of treating ME/CFS for the emerging symptoms of COVID-19, and in particular Longhaul- or Longhauler-COVID-19 are discussed in this opinion article. Longhaul COVID-19 is the current name being given to the long-term sequelae (symptoms lasting beyond 6 weeks) of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Multiple case definitions for ME/CFS exist, but post-exertional malaise (PEM) is currently emerging as the ‘hallmark’ symptom. The inability to identify a unique trigger of ME/CFS, as well as the inability to identify a specific, diagnostic laboratory test, led many physicians to conclude that the illness was psychosomatic or non-existent. However, recent research in the US and the UK, championed by patient organizations and their use of the internet and social media, suggest underlying pathophysiologies, e.g., oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction. The similarity and overlap of ME/CFS and Longhaul COVID-19 symptoms suggest to us similar pathological processes. We put forward a unifying hypothesis that explains the precipitating events such as viral triggers and other documented exposures: For their overlap in symptoms, ME/CFS and Longhaul COVID-19 should be described as Post Active Phase of Infection Syndromes (PAPIS). We further propose that the underlying biochemical pathways and pathophysiological processes of similar symptoms are similar regardless of the initiating trigger. Exploration of the biochemical pathways and pathophysiological processes should yield effective therapies for these conditions and others that may exhibit these symptoms. ME/CFS patients have suffered far too long. Longhaul COVD-19 patients should not be subject to a similar fate. We caution that failure to meet the now combined challenges of ME/CFS and Longhaul COVID-19 will impose serious socioeconomic as well as clinical consequences for patients, the families of patients, and society as a whole.
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spelling pubmed-79968792021-03-27 Our Evolving Understanding of ME/CFS Friedman, Kenneth J. Murovska, Modra Pheby, Derek F. H. Zalewski, Paweł Medicina (Kaunas) Opinion The potential benefits of the scientific insights gleaned from years of treating ME/CFS for the emerging symptoms of COVID-19, and in particular Longhaul- or Longhauler-COVID-19 are discussed in this opinion article. Longhaul COVID-19 is the current name being given to the long-term sequelae (symptoms lasting beyond 6 weeks) of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Multiple case definitions for ME/CFS exist, but post-exertional malaise (PEM) is currently emerging as the ‘hallmark’ symptom. The inability to identify a unique trigger of ME/CFS, as well as the inability to identify a specific, diagnostic laboratory test, led many physicians to conclude that the illness was psychosomatic or non-existent. However, recent research in the US and the UK, championed by patient organizations and their use of the internet and social media, suggest underlying pathophysiologies, e.g., oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction. The similarity and overlap of ME/CFS and Longhaul COVID-19 symptoms suggest to us similar pathological processes. We put forward a unifying hypothesis that explains the precipitating events such as viral triggers and other documented exposures: For their overlap in symptoms, ME/CFS and Longhaul COVID-19 should be described as Post Active Phase of Infection Syndromes (PAPIS). We further propose that the underlying biochemical pathways and pathophysiological processes of similar symptoms are similar regardless of the initiating trigger. Exploration of the biochemical pathways and pathophysiological processes should yield effective therapies for these conditions and others that may exhibit these symptoms. ME/CFS patients have suffered far too long. Longhaul COVD-19 patients should not be subject to a similar fate. We caution that failure to meet the now combined challenges of ME/CFS and Longhaul COVID-19 will impose serious socioeconomic as well as clinical consequences for patients, the families of patients, and society as a whole. MDPI 2021-02-26 /pmc/articles/PMC7996879/ /pubmed/33652622 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/medicina57030200 Text en © 2021 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) ).
spellingShingle Opinion
Friedman, Kenneth J.
Murovska, Modra
Pheby, Derek F. H.
Zalewski, Paweł
Our Evolving Understanding of ME/CFS
title Our Evolving Understanding of ME/CFS
title_full Our Evolving Understanding of ME/CFS
title_fullStr Our Evolving Understanding of ME/CFS
title_full_unstemmed Our Evolving Understanding of ME/CFS
title_short Our Evolving Understanding of ME/CFS
title_sort our evolving understanding of me/cfs
topic Opinion
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7996879/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33652622
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/medicina57030200
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