Mantle, David, Hargreaves, Iain Parry, Domingo, Joan Carles et al. · International journal of molecular sciences · 2024 · DOI
This review examines whether problems with mitochondria—the energy-producing structures inside our cells—contribute to post-viral fatigue conditions like ME/CFS, long COVID, and fibromyalgia. The researchers looked at existing research to see if a supplement called Coenzyme Q10 might help reduce fatigue and pain by supporting mitochondrial function. While mitochondrial dysfunction appears linked to these conditions, more research is needed to confirm whether CoQ10 supplementation is an effective treatment.
ME/CFS patients currently lack FDA-approved treatments and face significant disability. Understanding mitochondrial dysfunction as a potential underlying mechanism offers a testable biological target for intervention. If CoQ10 or similar mitochondrial-support therapies prove effective, they could provide patients with evidence-based treatment options to manage energy production and reduce symptom severity.
This review does not prove that CoQ10 supplementation definitively treats ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, or long COVID—it synthesizes existing evidence rather than presenting new clinical trial data. It identifies correlation between mitochondrial dysfunction and these conditions but does not establish mitochondrial impairment as the sole or primary cause. The evidence base for CoQ10 efficacy remains limited and requires larger, well-controlled clinical trials.
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
Mantle, David, Hargreaves, Iain Parry, Domingo, Joan Carles, & Castro-Marrero, Jesus (2024). Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Coenzyme Q10 Supplementation in Post-Viral Fatigue Syndrome: An Overview.. International journal of molecular sciences. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25010574
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-mantle-2024-mitochondrial-dysfunction,
author = {Mantle, David and Hargreaves, Iain Parry and Domingo, Joan Carles and Castro-Marrero, Jesus},
title = {Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Coenzyme Q10 Supplementation in Post-Viral Fatigue Syndrome: An Overview.},
journal = {International journal of molecular sciences},
year = {2024},
doi = {10.3390/ijms25010574},
note = {PubMed: 38203745},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/mantle-2024-mitochondrial-dysfunction},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/mantle-2024-mitochondrial-dysfunction
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