Chronic Fatigue and Dysautonomia following COVID-19 Vaccination Is Distinguished from Normal Vaccination Response by Altered Blood Markers
Amelie Semmler,
Anna Katharina Mundorf,
Anna Sabrina Kuechler,
Karin Schulze-Bosse,
Harald Heidecke,
Kai Schulze-Forster,
Matthias Schott,
Markus Uhrberg,
Sandra Weinhold,
Karl J. Lackner,
Marc Pawlitzki,
Sven Guenther Meuth,
Fritz Boege,
Jana Ruhrländer
Affiliations
Amelie Semmler
Central Institute for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Diagnostics, Medical Faculty, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
Anna Katharina Mundorf
Central Institute for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Diagnostics, Medical Faculty, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
Anna Sabrina Kuechler
Central Institute for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Diagnostics, Medical Faculty, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
Karin Schulze-Bosse
Central Institute for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Diagnostics, Medical Faculty, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
Harald Heidecke
Cell Trend GmbH, 14943 Luckenwalde, Germany
Kai Schulze-Forster
Cell Trend GmbH, 14943 Luckenwalde, Germany
Matthias Schott
Division for Specific Endocrinology, Medical Faculty, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
Markus Uhrberg
Institute for Transplantation Diagnostics and Cell Therapeutics, Medical Faculty, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
Sandra Weinhold
Institute for Transplantation Diagnostics and Cell Therapeutics, Medical Faculty, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
Karl J. Lackner
University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, 55101 Mainz, Germany
Marc Pawlitzki
Department of Neurology, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
Sven Guenther Meuth
Department of Neurology, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
Fritz Boege
Central Institute for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Diagnostics, Medical Faculty, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
Jana Ruhrländer
Selbsthilfegruppe Post-Vac-Syndrom Deutschland e.V., 34121 Kassel, Germany
SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination can entail chronic fatigue/dysautonomia tentatively termed post-acute COVID-19 vaccination syndrome (PACVS). We explored receptor autoantibodies and interleukin-6 (IL-6) as somatic correlates of PACVS. Blood markers determined before and six months after first-time SARS-CoV-2 vaccination of healthy controls (N = 89; 71 females; mean/median age: 39/49 years) were compared with corresponding values of PACVS-affected persons (N = 191; 159 females; mean/median age: 40/39 years) exhibiting chronic fatigue/dysautonomia (≥three symptoms for ≥five months after the last SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination) not due to SARS-CoV-2 infection and/or confounding diseases/medications. Normal vaccination response encompassed decreases in 11 receptor antibodies (by 25–50%, p p p p < 0.0001) by increased Angiotensin II type 1 receptor antibodies (cut-off ≤ 10.7 U/mL, ROC-AUC = 0.824 ± 0.027), decreased alpha-2B adrenergic receptor antibodies (cut-off ≥ 25.2 U/mL, ROC-AUC = 0.828 ± 0.025) and increased IL-6 (cut-off ≤ 2.3 pg/mL, ROC-AUC = 0.850 ± 0.022). PACVS is thus indicated as a somatic syndrome delineated/detectable by diagnostic blood markers.
