Hohberger, Bettina, Harrer, Thomas, Mardin, Christian et al. · Frontiers in medicine · 2021 · DOI
This case report describes one patient with long COVID who had ongoing fatigue, loss of taste, and poor blood flow in the eyes after a mild COVID-19 infection. The patient was found to have unusual antibodies that attack certain receptors in the body. When treated with a drug called BC 007 that neutralizes these antibodies, the patient's fatigue, taste, and eye blood flow all improved within days and stayed better for at least 4 weeks.
This study provides preliminary evidence linking autoimmune mechanisms (GPCR-AAbs) to post-COVID fatigue and microcirculatory dysfunction, two hallmark features of ME/CFS. If validated in larger controlled trials, it could identify a treatable subgroup of ME/CFS patients and offer a mechanistic understanding of how autoimmunity impairs cellular energy metabolism and tissue perfusion.
This case report cannot establish that GPCR-AAbs cause post-COVID syndrome or ME/CFS, nor can it prove BC 007 is an effective treatment. A single patient may represent coincidental improvement, natural recovery, or placebo response. No control group or randomized design was used, and generalizability to other patients is unknown.
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
Hohberger, Bettina, Harrer, Thomas, Mardin, Christian, Kruse, Friedrich, Hoffmanns, Jakob, Rogge, Lennart, et al. (2021). Case Report: Neutralization of Autoantibodies Targeting G-Protein-Coupled Receptors Improves Capillary Impairment and Fatigue Symptoms After COVID-19 Infection.. Frontiers in medicine. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2021.754667
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-hohberger-2021-case-report,
author = {Hohberger, Bettina and Harrer, Thomas and Mardin, Christian and Kruse, Friedrich and Hoffmanns, Jakob and Rogge, Lennart and Heltmann, Felix and Moritz, Michael and Szewczykowski, Charlotte and Schottenhamml, Julia and Kräter, Martin and Bergua, Antonio and Zenkel, Matthias and Gießl, Andreas and Schlötzer-Schrehardt, Ursula and Lämmer, Robert and Herrmann, Martin and Haberland, Annekathrin and Göttel, Peter and Müller, Johannes and Wallukat, Gerd},
title = {Case Report: Neutralization of Autoantibodies Targeting G-Protein-Coupled Receptors Improves Capillary Impairment and Fatigue Symptoms After COVID-19 Infection.},
journal = {Frontiers in medicine},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.3389/fmed.2021.754667},
note = {PubMed: 34869451},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/hohberger-2021-case-report},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/hohberger-2021-case-report
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