Ryabkova, Varvara A, Gavrilova, Natalia Y, Fedotkina, Tamara V et al. · Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022 · DOI
This Russian study looked at 56 people with ME/CFS and 14 people with post-COVID syndrome to understand how their bodies function differently. The researchers found that both groups had similar patterns of immune system problems, heart rate changes when standing up, and reduced blood flow in small vessels. Importantly, fatigue severity was linked to many other ME/CFS symptoms but not to anxiety or depression.
This study provides objective evidence that ME/CFS and post-COVID syndrome share common biological abnormalities in immune function and blood vessel control, supporting the view that both are neuroimmune disorders rather than purely psychological conditions. The finding that all tested ME/CFS patients had immunological abnormalities strengthens the case for ME/CFS as a physical disease with measurable biological markers.
This study does not establish whether the immunological and microcirculation abnormalities cause ME/CFS symptoms or result from them. It does not prove that post-COVID syndrome always develops into ME/CFS, only that these 14 post-COVID patients met ME/CFS diagnostic criteria. The small sample size and lack of longitudinal follow-up limit generalizability to broader populations.
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
Ryabkova, Varvara A, Gavrilova, Natalia Y, Fedotkina, Tamara V, Churilov, Leonid P, & Shoenfeld, Yehuda (2022). Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Post-COVID Syndrome: A Common Neuroimmune Ground?. Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland). https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics13010066
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-ryabkova-2022-myalgic-encephalomyelitis,
author = {Ryabkova, Varvara A and Gavrilova, Natalia Y and Fedotkina, Tamara V and Churilov, Leonid P and Shoenfeld, Yehuda},
title = {Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Post-COVID Syndrome: A Common Neuroimmune Ground?},
journal = {Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland)},
year = {2022},
doi = {10.3390/diagnostics13010066},
note = {PubMed: 36611357},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/ryabkova-2022-myalgic-encephalomyelitis},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-27. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/ryabkova-2022-myalgic-encephalomyelitis
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