Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34640544›Full record

ArticleJournal of clinical medicine2021

Reduced Parasympathetic Reactivation during Recovery from Exercise in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Jessica Van Oosterwijck, Uros Marusic, Inge De Wandele, Mira Meeus, Lorna Paul, Luc Lambrecht, Greta Moorkens, Lieven Danneels, Jo Nijs

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of clinical medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 22% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Recent research in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: an evidence map.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2025
    Pooled it
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  7. Observational
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 6 institutions in 3 countries.

Jessica Van OosterwijckDepartments of Physiotherapy, Human Physiology and Anatomy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1090 Brussels, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0002-8946-4383
Uros MarusicInstitute for Kinesiology Research, Science and Research Centre Koper, 6000 Koper, Slovenia.
Inge De WandeleSpine, Head and Pain Research Unit Ghent, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Campus UZ Ghent, Corneel Heymanslaan 10, B3, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0003-0377-0150
Mira MeeusSpine, Head and Pain Research Unit Ghent, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Campus UZ Ghent, Corneel Heymanslaan 10, B3, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
Lorna PaulNursing and Health Care, School of Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8LL, UK.
Luc LambrechtMedical Private Practice for Internal Medicine, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
Greta MoorkensDepartment of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Antwerp (UZA), 2650 Antwerp, Belgium.
Lieven DanneelsSpine, Head and Pain Research Unit Ghent, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Campus UZ Ghent, Corneel Heymanslaan 10, B3, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
Jo NijsDepartments of Physiotherapy, Human Physiology and Anatomy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1090 Brussels, Belgium.
Ghent University · BEVrije Universiteit Brussel · BEAlma Mater Europaea · SIAntwerp University Hospital · BEUniversity of Antwerp · BEUniversity of Glasgow · GB

Funding

ME Association NA
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Although autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysfunction in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) has been proposed, conflicting evidence makes it difficult to draw firm conclusions regarding ANS activity at rest in ME/CFS patients. Although severe exercise intolerance is one of the core features of ME/CFS, little attempts have been made to study ANS responses to physical exercise. Therefore, impairments in ANS activation at rest and following exercise were examined using a case-control study in 20 ME/CFS patients and 20 healthy people. Different autonomous variables, including cardiac, respiratory, and electrodermal responses were assessed at rest and following an acute exercise bout. At rest, parameters in the time-domain represented normal autonomic function in ME/CFS, while frequency-domain parameters indicated the possible presence of diminished (para)sympathetic activation. Reduced parasympathetic reactivation during recovery from exercise was observed in ME/CFS. This is the first study showing reduced parasympathetic reactivation during recovery from physical exercise in ME/CFS. Delayed HR recovery and/or a reduced HRV as seen in ME/CFS have been associated with poor disease prognosis, high risk for adverse cardiac events, and morbidity in other pathologies, implying that future studies should examine whether this is also the case in ME/CFS and how to safely improve HR recovery in this population.

Indexed as

autonomic functionautonomic nervous systemelectrocardiogramelectrodermal activityheart rate

Identifiers

PMID34640544
PMCPMC8509376
OpenAlexW3204390639

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.