Scheibenbogen C, Bellmann-Strobl JT, Heindrich C, Wittke K, Stein E, Franke C, Prüss H, Preßler H, Machule ML, Audebert H, Finke C, Zimmermann HG, Sawitzki B, Meisel C, Toelle M, Krueger A, Aschenbrenner AC, Schultze JL, Beyer MD, Ralser M, Mülleder M, Sander LE, Konietschke F, Paul F, Stojanov S, Bruckert L, Hedderich DM, Knolle F, Riemekasten G, Vehreschild MJGT, Cornely OA, Behrends U, and Burock S
The sequela of COVID-19 include a broad spectrum of symptoms that fall under the umbrella term post-COVID-19 condition or syndrome (PCS). Immune dysregulation, autoimmunity, endothelial dysfunction, viral persistence, and viral reactivation have been identified as potential mechanisms. However, there is heterogeneity in expression of biomarkers, and it is unknown yet whether these distinguish different clinical subgroups of PCS. There is an overlap of symptoms and pathomechanisms of PCS with postinfectious myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). No curative therapies are available for ME/CFS or PCS. The mechanisms identified so far provide targets for therapeutic interventions. To accelerate the development of therapies, we propose evaluating drugs targeting different mechanisms in clinical trial networks using harmonized diagnostic and outcome criteria and subgrouping patients based on a thorough clinical profiling including a comprehensive diagnostic and biomarker phenotyping., Competing Interests: The Charité Universitaetsmedizin Berlin holds a patent for the use of vericiguat in Post-COVID Syndrome. CS, JB-S, CH, KW, ES, CaF, HPru, HPre, M-LM, HA, ChF, HZ, BS, CM, MT, AK, MR, MM, LS, FKo, FP, LB, and SB are employed at Charité Universitaetsmedizin Berlin. CM was employed by Labor Berlin - Charité Vivantes GmbH. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any comercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The Handling Editor NS declared a past collaboration with the Author CS., (Copyright © 2023 Scheibenbogen, Bellmann-Strobl, Heindrich, Wittke, Stein, Franke, Prüss, Preßler, Machule, Audebert, Finke, Zimmermann, Sawitzki, Meisel, Toelle, Krueger, Aschenbrenner, Schultze, Beyer, Ralser, Mülleder, Sander, Konietschke, Paul, Stojanov, Bruckert, Hedderich, Knolle, Riemekasten, Vehreschild, Cornely, Behrends and Burock.)