ReviewProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2021
Redox imbalance links COVID-19 and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.
Review in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 155 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
155 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 247 citations in OpenAlex.
- Long COVID and long chain fatty acids (LCFAs): Psychoneuroimmunity implication of omega-3 LCFAs in delayed consequences of COVID-19.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2022Pooled it
- Association of rapamycin treatment with the modulation of purine metabolism, reduced microglial inflammatory responses, improved mitochondrial energy metabolism, and alleviation of fatigue symptoms in ME/CFS subjects: pilot findings from phase-II observational study.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Trial
- Trial
- Molecular Hydrogen Positively Affects Physical and Respiratory Function in Acute Post-COVID-19 Patients: A New Perspective in Rehabilitation.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Trial
- Persistent Redox Imbalance in Post-COVID-19 Syndrome: Lipid Peroxidation, Antioxidant Enzyme Depletion, and Reduced Nitric Oxide Availability in an Amazonian Population.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Article
- Review
- Folic Acid and Endothelial Dysfunction in COVID-19.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Designing studies for post-treatment Lyme disease and other infection-associated chronic illnesses.Brain : a journal of neurology · 2026Review
- Fibromyalgia: A Multifactorial Pain Disorder.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Plasma Extracellular Vesicle Surface Marker Profiling Reveals Immune Cell-Associated Mitochondrial Membrane Potential Alterations in Long COVID and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.Open forum infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Post-Exertional Malaise in Post-COVID-19 Syndrome: A Shift in the Frequency Across Pandemic Phases.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Adrenaline restores Bmal1 transcriptional rhythms dampened by SARS-CoV-2 infection in Cthrc1-positive pulmonary fibroblasts derived from the Nile grass rat.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Pathophysiological, Translational, and Diagnostic Aspects of ME/CFS: A Focus on Skeletal Muscle Involvement.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Exploring a genetic basis for the metabolic perturbations in ME/CFS using UK biobank.iScience · 2026Article
- A perfect storm: the immunological and pathophysiological landscape of pediatric post-COVID-19 condition.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Chronic stress and cognitive dysfunction in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: HPA axis dysregulation and hippocampal plasticity.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Review
- Systematic Review of Randomized Clinical Trials for the Treatment of Long COVID Syndrome.Journal of community hospital internal medicine perspectives · 2026Article
- Central origin of fatigability in Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome revealed by multimodal neuroimaging.NeuroImage. Clinical · 2026Article
- Uncovering the genetic architecture of ME/CFS: a precision approach reveals impact of rare monogenic variation.Journal of translational medicine · 2025Article
95 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Although most patients recover from acute COVID-19, some experience postacute sequelae of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection (PASC). One subgroup of PASC is a syndrome called "long COVID-19," reminiscent of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). ME/CFS is a debilitating condition, often triggered by viral and bacterial infections, leading to years-long debilitating symptoms including profound fatigue, postexertional malaise, unrefreshing sleep, cognitive deficits, and orthostatic intolerance. Some are skeptical that either ME/CFS or long COVID-19 involves underlying biological abnormalities. However, in this review, we summarize the evidence that people with acute COVID-19 and with ME/CFS have biological abnormalities including redox imbalance, systemic inflammation and neuroinflammation, an impaired ability to generate adenosine triphosphate, and a general hypometabolic state. These phenomena have not yet been well studied in people with long COVID-19, and each of them has been reported in other diseases as well, particularly neurological diseases. We also examine the bidirectional relationship between redox imbalance, inflammation, energy metabolic deficits, and a hypometabolic state. We speculate as to what may be causing these abnormalities. Thus, understanding the molecular underpinnings of both PASC and ME/CFS may lead to the development of novel therapeutics.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.