Moatar, Alexandra Ioana, Chis, Aimee Rodica, Romanescu, Mirabela et al. · Scientific reports · 2023 · DOI
Researchers studied a tiny molecule in the blood called miR-195 in COVID-19 patients to see if it could predict who would get sicker. They found that miR-195 levels measured in the first two days after hospital admission were very good at telling the difference between patients with mild and severe COVID-19. Interestingly, their analysis suggests this molecule may affect how heart cells produce energy, which could be relevant to long COVID and chronic fatigue syndrome.
This study is relevant to ME/CFS because it identifies a biomarker associated with viral infection severity that may specifically affect mitochondrial function in the heart—a mechanism implicated in both post-COVID syndrome and ME/CFS. Understanding how acute viral infections trigger mitochondrial dysfunction could illuminate why some patients develop persistent fatigue and exercise intolerance after COVID-19, potentially opening new avenues for prediction and treatment of these conditions.
This study does not establish that miR-195 directly causes mitochondrial dysfunction or ME/CFS; it only correlates with COVID-19 severity and computationally predicts effects on mitochondrial pathways. It does not prove that long COVID or ME/CFS develop through the same miR-195-mediated mechanism, nor does it demonstrate whether miR-195 levels predict long-term complications. The findings are correlative and require functional validation in relevant disease models.
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
Moatar, Alexandra Ioana, Chis, Aimee Rodica, Romanescu, Mirabela, Ciordas, Paula-Diana, Nitusca, Diana, Marian, Catalin, et al. (2023). Plasma miR-195-5p predicts the severity of Covid-19 in hospitalized patients.. Scientific reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-40754-w
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-moatar-2023-plasma-mir,
author = {Moatar, Alexandra Ioana and Chis, Aimee Rodica and Romanescu, Mirabela and Ciordas, Paula-Diana and Nitusca, Diana and Marian, Catalin and Oancea, Cristian and Sirbu, Ioan-Ovidiu},
title = {Plasma miR-195-5p predicts the severity of Covid-19 in hospitalized patients.},
journal = {Scientific reports},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.1038/s41598-023-40754-w},
note = {PubMed: 37612439},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/moatar-2023-plasma-mir},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/moatar-2023-plasma-mir
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