Understanding the Differences between Long Covid and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
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In recent years, the medical community has been confronted with the challenges posed by long-term health complications following acute COVID-19 infections. This phenomenon, known as Long Covid, shares similarities with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) regarding symptoms and underlying pathophysiology. Understanding the differences between these two conditions is crucial for accurate diagnosis, effective treatment, and improved patient care. This article aims to comprehensively compare Long Covid and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, shedding light on their distinct characteristics, causes, diagnosis, and treatment approaches.
Content List
What is Long Covid and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?
Definition and Overview
Long Covid, also called Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), encompasses a broad range of persistent symptoms experienced by individuals even after recovering from acute COVID-19. These symptoms include persistent fatigue, cognitive problems, headaches, disrupted sleep, myalgias and arthralgias, post-exertional malaise, and orthostatic intolerance. On the other hand, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is characterized by persistent and unexplained fatigue that is not alleviated by rest and is often worsened by physical or mental activity. CFS can significantly impair a person’s ability to carry out daily activities and is not improved by sleep or rest.
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Symptoms and Manifestation
Both Long Covid and CFS share several common symptoms, including persistent fatigue, cognitive issues, and post-exertional malaise. Patients with Long Covid often experience a constellation of symptoms that greatly interfere with their ability to function, leaving some individuals housebound and disabled. Similarly, CFS affects numerous organ systems throughout the body, involving dysfunction of the vascular, autonomic, neurological, mitochondrial, metabolic, connective tissue, endocrine, and immune systems. It is estimated that around 90% of people with CFS are never properly diagnosed, and many cases have been dismissed as a condition existing purely “in the mind” that can be treated with exercise therapy.
Causes and Triggers
Relation to Covid-19
Long Covid is triggered by infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19. In contrast, CFS often follows an “infectious-like” illness, and it is unlikely that CFS is triggered by a single, novel infectious agent. Instead, it represents a dysfunctional response to infection with any of multiple agents. Both Long Covid and CFS share abnormalities involving the central and autonomic nervous systems, the immune system, reactivation of latent infectious agents (primarily herpesviruses), the gut microbiome, energy metabolism, a hypometabolic state, redox imbalance, and various cardiac, pulmonary, and vascular abnormalities.