Retornaz, Frédérique, Rebaudet, Stanislas, Stavris, Chloé et al. · Journal of translational medicine · 2022 · DOI
This study found that long-COVID patients and ME/CFS patients have very similar symptoms and muscle problems. Researchers measured electrical activity in leg muscles during and after exercise in both groups and found comparable patterns of muscle fatigue. This suggests that COVID-19 infection may trigger ME/CFS-like illness in some people.
This research provides objective neuromuscular evidence that long-COVID and ME/CFS share biological mechanisms, not just subjective symptoms. For ME/CFS patients, this validates that their condition has measurable muscle dysfunction and suggests that understanding post-viral mechanisms in long-COVID may illuminate ME/CFS pathophysiology. It supports the concept that viral infections can trigger a distinct post-viral syndrome.
This study does not prove that all long-COVID cases progress to ME/CFS, nor does it establish causation—only that similarities exist between the two conditions at a single timepoint. The retrospective design cannot determine whether long-COVID patients' symptoms are stable, improving, or worsening over time. It also does not identify the specific biological mechanisms causing M-wave alterations in either condition.
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
Retornaz, Frédérique, Rebaudet, Stanislas, Stavris, Chloé, & Jammes, Yves (2022). Long-term neuromuscular consequences of SARS-Cov-2 and their similarities with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: results of the retrospective CoLGEM study.. Journal of translational medicine. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12967-022-03638-7
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-retornaz-2022-long-term,
author = {Retornaz, Frédérique and Rebaudet, Stanislas and Stavris, Chloé and Jammes, Yves},
title = {Long-term neuromuscular consequences of SARS-Cov-2 and their similarities with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: results of the retrospective CoLGEM study.},
journal = {Journal of translational medicine},
year = {2022},
doi = {10.1186/s12967-022-03638-7},
note = {PubMed: 36153556},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/retornaz-2022-long-term},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/retornaz-2022-long-term
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