Study of Persistent Fatigue After Epstein-Barr Virus Infection in Teens and Young Adults Exploring Brain, Immune, and Nervous System Links to Fatigue

What this Trial Is About

Persistent fatigue PF is a widespread symptom that causes disability and lowers quality of life across different countries and cultures. It often follows acute infections, such as Epstein-Barr virus EBV infection, and is a key feature of conditions like Long COVID. This research aims to better understand the complex interactions between brain activity, the immune system, and the autonomic nervous system in PF, which are not well studied yet. The multinational MAP-FAT project focuses on these brain-body relationships to clarify what drives persistent fatigue. The study will follow 150 individuals with recent EBV infection and 150 healthy controls who do not have EBV infection. Over six months, participants will undergo clinical assessments, complete questionnaires, and have brain scans using multimodal MRI. Researchers will also measure autonomic nervous system activity, perform detailed immune system profiling, and conduct behavioral experiments. Some experiments will include drug injections to observe how changes in autonomic activity affect brain function and immune response. Participants will be closely monitored for six months with repeated evaluations of fatigue symptoms, brain connectivity, and immune markers. The primary outcome measured is a difference in autonomic sympathetic activity at six months. Secondary outcomes include brain connectivity in specific regions and fatigue questionnaire scores. This observational study involves no treatment, and participants will be tracked to understand the causes and mechanisms behind persistent fatigue following EBV infection.

Mechanisms of Persistent Fatigue