ArticleFrontiers in pediatrics2023
One-year follow-up of young people with ME/CFS following infectious mononucleosis by Epstein-Barr virus.
Article in Frontiers in pediatrics, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06005246 (Munich Cohort Study With Biobank for Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults With Post-infection ME/CFS), which is not on this map. Cited by 12 papers.
What it found
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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.
Munich Cohort Study With Biobank for Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults With Post-infection ME/CFS (MUC-CFS)
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- Low-Dose Ionizing Radiation and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS): A Review of Recent Evidence and Future Research Directions Toward the Elucidation of a Metabolic, Immunologic, and Signaling Cascade.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Novel activity and participation scales for children, adolescents, and young adults with postacute infection and vaccination syndromes and/or ME/CFS.European journal of pediatrics · 2026Article
- Risk factors for severe post-COVID condition in children, adolescents, and young adults.European journal of pediatrics · 2026Observational
- Virus-induced endothelial senescence as a cause and driving factor for ME/CFS and long COVID: mediated by a dysfunctional immune system.Cell death & disease · 2026Review
- The composition of MDSC-subpopulations PMN-like, M-like, and e-like MDSC is associated with the severity of infectious mononucleosis in pediatric patients.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome in adolescents with ME/CFS - a case control study.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2026Article
- Long COVID - a critical disruption of cholinergic neurotransmission?Bioelectronic medicine · 2025Review
- Knowledge mapping of childhood infectious mononucleosis: a bibliometric analysis for the twenty-first century.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 2025Article
- [Interdisciplinary, collaborative D-A-CH (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) consensus statement concerning the diagnostic and treatment of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome].Wiener klinische Wochenschrift · 2024Article
- The German Multicenter Registry for ME/CFS (MECFS-R).Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Long COVID in pediatrics-epidemiology, diagnosis, and management.European journal of pediatrics · 2024Review
- Pediatric and adult patients with ME/CFS following COVID-19: A structured approach to diagnosis using the Munich Berlin Symptom Questionnaire (MBSQ).European journal of pediatrics · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
17 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Infectious mononucleosis after primary infection with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV-IM) has been linked to the development of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue-syndrome (ME/CFS) in children, adolescents, and young adults. Here, we present clinical phenotypes and follow-up data from a first German cohort of young people with ME/CFS following EBV-IM. Methods: 12 adolescents and 13 young adults were diagnosed with IM-triggered ME/CFS at our specialized tertiary outpatient service by clinical criteria requiring post-exertional malaise (PEM) and a history of confirmed EBV primary infection as triggering event. Demographic information, laboratory findings, frequency and severity of symptoms, physical functioning, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) were assessed and re-evaluated 6 and 12 months later. Results: Young adults displayed more severe symptoms as well as worsening of fatigue, physical and mental functioning, and HRQoL throughout the study, compared to adolescents. After one year, 6/12 (54%) adolescents no longer met the diagnostic criteria for ME/CFS while all young adults continued to fulfill the Canadian consensus criteria. Improvement in adolescents was evident in physical functioning, symptom frequency and severity, and HRQoL, while young adults showed little improvement. EBV serology and EBV DNA load did not correlate with distinct clinical features of ME/CFS, and clinical chemistry showed no evidence of inflammation. Remarkably, the median time from symptom onset to ME/CFS diagnosis was 13.8 (IQR: 9.1-34.9) months. Conclusions: ME/CFS following EBV-IM is a severely debilitating disease often diagnosed late and with limited responses to conventional medical care, especially in adults. Although adolescents may have a better prognosis, their condition can fluctuate and significantly impact their HRQoL. Our data emphasize that biomarkers and effective therapeutic options are also urgently needed to improve medical care and pave the way to recovery.
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