Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Mar;7(1):14-26.
doi: 10.1016/j.cdtm.2020.11.002. Epub 2020 Nov 21.

Role of mitochondria, oxidative stress and the response to antioxidants in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: A possible approach to SARS-CoV-2 'long-haulers'?

Emily Wood  1 , Katherine H Hall  2 , Warren Tate  1
Affiliations
Review

Role of mitochondria, oxidative stress and the response to antioxidants in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: A possible approach to SARS-CoV-2 'long-haulers'?

Emily Wood et al. Chronic Dis Transl Med. 2021 Mar.

Abstract

A significant number of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic patients have developed chronic symptoms lasting weeks or months which are very similar to those described for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome. This study reviews the current literature and understanding of the role that mitochondria, oxidative stress and antioxidants may play in the understanding of the pathophysiology and treatment of chronic fatigue. It describes what is known about the dysfunctional pathways which can develop in mitochondria and their relationship to chronic fatigue. It also reviews what is known about oxidative stress and how this can be related to the pathophysiology of fatigue, as well as examining the potential for specific therapy directed at mitochondria for the treatment of chronic fatigue in the form of antioxidants. This study identifies areas which require urgent, further research in order to fully elucidate the clinical and therapeutic potential of these approaches.

Keywords: Antioxidants; Chronic fatigue syndrome; Mitochondria; Oxidative stress; SARS-CoV-2.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

None.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Electron transport chain on the inner mitochondrial membrane. Electrons move from carriers NADH and FADH2 to oxygen, the final acceptor. CoQ10 (yellow) moves from Complex I or Complex II carrying electrons to Complex III. The electrons then are carried from Complex III to Complex IV by cytochrome C (labelled Cyt C, green). NADH: Reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide; FADH2: Reduced flavin adenosine dinucleotide; ROS: Reactive oxygen species; CoQ10: coenzyme Q10. (Image source: Sweetman et al, with permission).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Witvliet M.G. The Conversation; Australia: 2020 Aug 11. I'm a COVID-19 Long-Hauler and an Epidemiologist – Here's How it Feels when Symptoms Last for Months.https://theconversation.com/im-a-covid-19-long-hauler-and-an-epidemiolog... [Internet] [cited 2020 Aug 14]. Available from.
    1. Marshall M. The lasting misery of coronavirus long-haulers. Nature. 2020 Sep 14;585(7825) https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02598-6 [Internet] [cited 2020 Nov 3]. Available from. - PubMed
    1. Katz B.Z., Shiraishi Y., Mears C.J., Binns H.J., Taylor R. Chronic fatigue syndrome after infectious mononucleosis in adolescents. Pediatrics. 2009;124:189–193. doi: 10.1542/peds.2008-1879. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Shephard C., Chaudhuri A. 9th ed. Key Cross Media; England: 2017. ME/CFS/PVFS an Exploration of the Key Clinical Issues.http://omegaoxon.org/media/booklets/shepherd.pdf [Internet] [cited 2020 Aug 13]. 26p. Available from.
    1. Chu L., Valencia I.J., Garvert D.W., Montoya J.G. Onset patterns and course of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome. Front Pediatri. 2019;7:1–22. doi: 10.3389/fped.2019.00012. - DOI - PMC - PubMed