Many people with ME/CFS or post-COVID are still told that their symptoms are mainly the result of reduced physical activity and the resulting loss of fitness. New research, led by Dr Rob Wüst and conducted in part within the Dutch ME/CFS Cohort and Biobank (NMCB), shows that this explanation is too simplistic.
The researchers compared the muscles of people with ME/CFS and post-COVID with those of healthy individuals who had undergone 60 days of complete bed rest. Although both groups had a reduced exercise capacity, the researchers found clear differences in their muscles. These included changes in muscle fibre composition, the energy production of muscle cells, and—among people with ME/CFS—the small blood vessels surrounding the muscle fibres.
The findings show that the reduced exercise capacity seen in ME/CFS and post-COVID cannot be explained by prolonged physical inactivity alone. Instead, they provide new insights into the biological changes occurring in the muscles of people living with these conditions.
The results have been published in the scientific journal Nature Communications.
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