Long-term neuromuscular consequences of SARS-Cov-2 and their similarities with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: results of the retrospective CoLGEM study.
J Transl Med
; 20(1): 429, 2022 09 24.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-36153556
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Patients with long-COVID often complain of continuous fatigue, myalgia, sleep problems, cognitive dysfunction, and post-exertional malaise. No data are available on EMG recording of evoked myopotentials (M-waves) or exercise-induced alterations in long-COVID patients, providing evidence of muscle membrane fatigue. Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) develops in more than half of patients after an infectious disease, particularly viral diseases. A large proportion (around 70%) of these patients have neuromuscular disorders with M-wave alterations during and after exercise. Our hypothesis was that M-wave alterations would be also found in long-COVID patients, in association with neuromuscular symptoms, similar to ME/CFS.METHODS:
This retrospective observational ColGEM (Covid LonG Encéphalomyelite Myalgique) study compared 59 patients with long-COVID and 55 ME/CFS patients with a history of severe infection who presented before the COVID pandemic. All of these patients underwent the same protocol consisting of a questionnaire focusing on neural and neuromuscular disorders and M-wave recording in the rectus femoris muscle before, during, and 10 min after a progressive cycling exercise. Maximal handgrip strength (MHGS) and maximal exercise power were also measured. The frequency of symptoms and magnitude of M-wave changes in the two groups were compared using non-parametric and parametric tests.RESULTS:
The frequency of fatigue, myalgia, sleep problems, cognitive dysfunction, and post-exertional malaise as well as the magnitude of exercise-induced M-wave alterations were the same in the two groups. By contrast, digestive problems were less present in long-COVID. M-wave alterations were greater in ME/CFS patients as in those with long-COVID when the highest muscle strength and highest exercise performance were measured.CONCLUSIONS:
These high clinical and biological similarities between long-COVID and ME/CFS support the hypothesis that SARS-Cov-2 infection can cause ME/CFS symptoms. Trial registration Registered retrospectively.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Sleep Wake Disorders
/
Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Guideline
/
Observational_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
J Transl Med
Year:
2022
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Francia