Haffke, Milan, Freitag, Helma, Rudolf, Gordon et al. · Journal of translational medicine · 2022 · DOI
This study looked at whether blood vessel function is damaged in people with long COVID and ME/CFS. Researchers tested blood vessel function and measured specific proteins in the blood that reflect endothelial (blood vessel lining) health. They found that some patients with both conditions showed signs of blood vessel dysfunction, and had abnormal levels of certain proteins compared to healthy people.
This research provides biological evidence that blood vessel dysfunction may contribute to fatigue and exercise intolerance in ME/CFS and post-COVID syndrome. Understanding these vascular abnormalities could lead to better diagnostic tools and targeted treatments for these debilitating conditions. The finding of elevated endothelial markers offers potential biomarkers for future research and clinical assessment.
This study does not prove that endothelial dysfunction causes ME/CFS or post-COVID fatigue—only that they are associated. The cross-sectional design means we cannot determine if vascular damage occurs before, during, or after symptom development. Additionally, not all patients with these conditions showed endothelial dysfunction, suggesting other mechanisms may be involved in some cases.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Haffke, Milan, Freitag, Helma, Rudolf, Gordon, Seifert, Martina, Doehner, Wolfram, Scherbakov, Nadja, et al. (2022). Endothelial dysfunction and altered endothelial biomarkers in patients with post-COVID-19 syndrome and chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).. Journal of translational medicine. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12967-022-03346-2
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-haffke-2022-endothelial-dysfunction,
author = {Haffke, Milan and Freitag, Helma and Rudolf, Gordon and Seifert, Martina and Doehner, Wolfram and Scherbakov, Nadja and Hanitsch, Leif and Wittke, Kirsten and Bauer, Sandra and Konietschke, Frank and Paul, Friedemann and Bellmann-Strobl, Judith and Kedor, Claudia and Scheibenbogen, Carmen and Sotzny, Franziska},
title = {Endothelial dysfunction and altered endothelial biomarkers in patients with post-COVID-19 syndrome and chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).},
journal = {Journal of translational medicine},
year = {2022},
doi = {10.1186/s12967-022-03346-2},
note = {PubMed: 35317812},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/haffke-2022-endothelial-dysfunction},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-27. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/haffke-2022-endothelial-dysfunction
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