Martínez-Lavín, Manuel, Miguel-Álvarez, Adriana · Clinical rheumatology · 2023 · DOI
This study compares three conditions that share similar symptoms: fibromyalgia, ME/CFS, and long COVID. All three cause fatigue, brain fog, and widespread pain. Researchers propose that these conditions may work through the same biological mechanism—specifically, problems with nerve fiber communication in the body—and suggest that long COVID may develop through the same pathway as fibromyalgia.
This framework offers a potential biological explanation for why ME/CFS and long COVID patients experience overlapping symptoms of fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, and pain. If the proposed DRG/small fiber neuropathy mechanism is validated, it could redirect research toward shared diagnostic biomarkers and treatments applicable across all three conditions, improving patient care and research efficiency.
This study does not provide new experimental evidence that DRG dysregulation actually causes these conditions—it is a theoretical synthesis, not original data. The proposed mechanism remains hypothetical and requires prospective studies in patient cohorts to establish causation rather than correlation. Clinical overlap alone does not prove identical underlying mechanisms.
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
Martínez-Lavín, Manuel & Miguel-Álvarez, Adriana (2023). Hypothetical framework for post-COVID 19 condition based on a fibromyalgia pathogenetic model.. Clinical rheumatology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-023-06743-0
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-martnez-lavn-2023-hypothetical-framework,
author = {Martínez-Lavín, Manuel and Miguel-Álvarez, Adriana},
title = {Hypothetical framework for post-COVID 19 condition based on a fibromyalgia pathogenetic model.},
journal = {Clinical rheumatology},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.1007/s10067-023-06743-0},
note = {PubMed: 37707639},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/martnez-lavn-2023-hypothetical-framework},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/martnez-lavn-2023-hypothetical-framework
Contribute
Private, reviewed by a human. Not a public comment thread.