Constant fatigue is one of the symptoms of the post-COVID syndrome. A recent study by American scientists showed that half of the patients with post-COVID syndrome suffer from chronic fatigue.
How to Recognize Chronic Fatigue Syndrome – Fukuda Criteria, 1994:
- Unexplained, persistent or recurring fatigue, which was not there before and is not the result of constant stress, does not disappear after rest and leads to a significant decrease in the previous level of professional, educational, social and personal activity.
- Simultaneous occurrence of four or more symptoms from the list below, symptoms persist or recur for 6 or more consecutive months and do not precede fatigue:
- violation of short-term memory or concentration of attention, significantly reducing the previous level of professional, educational, social and personal activity;
- sore throat;
- soreness of the cervical or axillary lymph nodes;
- muscle or multi-joint pain without swelling or redness of the joints;
- headaches of a new type, change in the severity of headaches;
- the condition does not improve after sleep;
- feeling unwell after exercising for more than 24 hours.
Vagus Nerve Stimulation to Treat Post-COVID Syndrome
Belgian scientists recently reported that transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation reduces the symptoms of the post-COVID syndrome. The study included patients with post-COVID fatigue, chest pain, digestive problems, headache, and cognitive difficulties. Scientists have suggested that the cause of the post-COVID syndrome is prolonged inflammation. Several studies have shown that vagus nerve stimulation reduces inflammation by suppressing the production of inflammatory cytokines. Although in the Belgian study, vagus nerve stimulation did not affect inflammation levels, it significantly improved the condition of the patients.
Vagus Nerve Stimulation to Treat Fatigue after Coronavirus
Scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (USA) investigated whether vagus nerve stimulation can help patients with post-COVID chronic fatigue.
The study included 14 coronavirus survivors with chronic fatigue that met the Fukuda criteria.
The vagus nerve was stimulated with a device attached to the ear’s tragus and generated electrical impulses. The impulses act on the ear branch of the vagus nerve, which is located close to the skin in the tragus region. Patients stimulated the vagus nerve for 35 minutes daily for 6 weeks.
Research Results
In 57% of patients, the condition improved: physical functioning increased on the SF-36 scale, and the severity of the most disturbing symptom and the level of fatigue decreased. There were no side effects.
The only symptom of vagus nerve stimulation did not affect impaired short-term memory or concentration.
There was no control group in the study, so the placebo effect could explain the positive result. However, a review of trials for treating chronic fatigue syndrome showed that the highest positive rate for placebo was 24%, while the present study showed an improvement rate of 57%.
Conclusion
Transcutaneous stimulation of the auricular branch of the vagus nerve may help patients with post-COVID chronic fatigue.
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Reference
Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation in the Treatment of Long Covid-Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
