Ivanovska, Mariya, Homadi, Maysam Salim, Angelova, Gergana et al. · Biomedicines · 2025 · DOI
This review compared Long-COVID (illness after COVID-19) and ME/CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome), which share similar symptoms like extreme tiredness, difficulty thinking clearly, and problems with the nervous system. While both conditions likely involve immune system problems, viral persistence, and blood vessel issues, they appear to have some differences in how they develop. Currently, there is no cure for either condition, though lifestyle management and rehabilitation help some people.
Understanding similarities and differences between Long-COVID and ME/CFS could accelerate development of more effective treatments and diagnostic tools for both conditions. This comparison helps researchers identify which biological mechanisms are disease-specific versus shared, potentially revealing new therapeutic targets. For patients, clarifying these distinctions may improve diagnosis and personalized treatment strategies.
This review does not establish causation for any specific pathophysiological mechanism—it identifies associations reported in existing literature. It cannot determine whether Long-COVID and ME/CFS are fundamentally the same disease with different triggers or truly distinct conditions, as the relative contributions of overlapping mechanisms remain uncertain. The review does not provide new clinical trial data and cannot establish which treatments are most effective.
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Primary citation
Ivanovska, Mariya, Homadi, Maysam Salim, Angelova, Gergana, Taskov, Hristo, & Murdjeva, Marianna (2025). Differential Characteristics and Comparison Between Long-COVID Syndrome and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS).. Biomedicines. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines13112797
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-ivanovska-2025-differential-characteristics,
author = {Ivanovska, Mariya and Homadi, Maysam Salim and Angelova, Gergana and Taskov, Hristo and Murdjeva, Marianna},
title = {Differential Characteristics and Comparison Between Long-COVID Syndrome and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS).},
journal = {Biomedicines},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.3390/biomedicines13112797},
note = {PubMed: 41301889},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/ivanovska-2025-differential-characteristics},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/ivanovska-2025-differential-characteristics
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