Achieving symptom relief in patients with Myalgic encephalomyelitis by targeting the neuro-immune interface and optimizing disease tolerance

Abstract:

Myalgic encephalomyelitis, ME, previously also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a heterogeneous, debilitating syndrome of unknown etiology responsible for long-lasting disability in millions of patients worldwide. The most well-known symptom of ME is post-exertional malaise, but many patients also experience autonomic dysregulation, cranial nerve dysfunction and signs of immune system activation. Many patients also report a sudden onset of disease following an infection.

The brainstem is a suspected focal point in ME pathogenesis and patients with structural impairment to the brainstem often show ME-like symptoms. The brainstem is also where the vagus nerve originates, a critical neuro-immune interface and mediator of the inflammatory reflex which regulate systemic inflammation.

Here we report the results of a randomized, placebo-controlled trial using intranasal mechanical stimulation (INMEST) targeting nerve endings in the nasal cavity, likely from the trigeminal nerve, possibly activating additional centers in the brainstem of ME-patients and correlating with a ∼30% reduction in overall symptom scores after eight weeks of treatment.

By performing longitudinal, systems-level monitoring of the blood immune system in these patients, we uncover signs of chronic immune activation in ME, as well as immunological correlates of improvement that center around gut-homing immune cells and reduced inflammation.

The mechanisms of symptom relief remains to be determined, but transcriptional analyses suggest an upregulation of disease tolerance mechanisms. We believe that these results are suggestive of ME as a condition explained by a maladaptive disease tolerance response following infection.

Source: Lucie Rodriguez, Christian Pou, Tadepally Lakshmikanth, Jingdian Zhang, Constantin Habimana Mugabo, Jun Wang, Jaromir Mikes, Axel Olin, Yang Chen, Joanna Rorbach, Jan-Erik Juto, Tie Qiang Li, Per Julin, Petter Brodin, Achieving symptom relief in patients with Myalgic encephalomyelitis by targeting the neuro-immune interface and optimizing disease tolerance, Oxford Open Immunology, 2023;, iqad003, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfimm/iqad003 (Full text available as PDF file)

A review of cytokine-based pathophysiology of Long COVID symptoms

Abstract:

The Long COVID/Post Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) group includes patients with initial mild-to-moderate symptoms during the acute phase of the illness, in whom recovery is prolonged, or new symptoms are developed over months. Here, we propose a description of the pathophysiology of the Long COVID presentation based on inflammatory cytokine cascades and the p38 MAP kinase signaling pathways that regulate cytokine production.

In this model, the SARS-CoV-2 viral infection is hypothesized to trigger a dysregulated peripheral immune system activation with subsequent cytokine release. Chronic low-grade inflammation leads to dysregulated brain microglia with an exaggerated release of central cytokines, producing neuroinflammation. Immunothrombosis linked to chronic inflammation with microclot formation leads to decreased tissue perfusion and ischemia. Intermittent fatigue, Post Exertional Malaise (PEM), CNS symptoms with “brain fog,” arthralgias, paresthesias, dysautonomia, and GI and ophthalmic problems can consequently arise as result of the elevated peripheral and central cytokines.

There are abundant similarities between symptoms in Long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). DNA polymorphisms and viral-induced epigenetic changes to cytokine gene expression may lead to chronic inflammation in Long COVID patients, predisposing some to develop autoimmunity, which may be the gateway to ME/CFS.

Source: Low RN, Low RJ, Akrami A. A review of cytokine-based pathophysiology of Long COVID symptoms. Front Med (Lausanne). 2023 Mar 31;10:1011936. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2023.1011936. PMID: 37064029; PMCID: PMC10103649. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10103649/ (Full text)

Natural killer cytotoxicity in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS): a multi-site clinical assessment of ME/CFS (MCAM) sub-study

Abstract:

Background: Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a multisystem illness characterized by substantial reduction in function accompanied by profound unexplained fatigue not significantly relieved by rest, post-exertional malaise, and other symptoms. Reduced natural killer (NK) cell count and cytotoxicity has been investigated as a biomarker for ME/CFS, but few clinical laboratories offer the test and multi-site verification studies have not been conducted.

Methods: We determined NK cell counts and cytotoxicity in 174 (65%) ME/CFS, 86 (32%) healthy control (HC) and 10 (3.7%) participants with other fatigue associated conditions (ill control [IC]) from the Multi-Site Clinical Assessment of ME/CFS (MCAM) study using an assay validated for samples shipped overnight instead of testing on day of venipuncture.

Results: We found a large variation in percent cytotoxicity [mean and (IQR) for ME/CFS and HC respectively, 34.1% (IQR 22.4-44.3%) and 33.6% (IQR 22.9-43.7%)] and no statistically significant differences between patients with ME/CFS and HC (p-value = 0.79). Analysis stratified on illness domain measured with standardized questionnaires did not identify an association of NK cytotoxicity with domain scores. Among all participants, NK cytotoxicity was not associated with survey results of physical and mental well-being, or health factors such as history of infection, obesity, smoking, and co-morbid conditions.

Conclusion: These results indicate this assay is not ready for clinical implementation and studies are needed to further explore immune parameters that may be involved in the pathophysiology of ME/CFS.

Source: Querec TD, Lin JS, Chen Y, Helton B, Kogelnik AM, Klimas NG, Peterson DL, Bateman L, Lapp C, Podell RN, Natelson BH, Unger ER; MCAM Study Group. Natural killer cytotoxicity in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS): a multi-site clinical assessment of ME/CFS (MCAM) sub-study. J Transl Med. 2023 Apr 3;21(1):242. doi: 10.1186/s12967-023-03958-2. PMID: 37013608. https://translational-medicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12967-023-03958-2 (Full text)

Altered Fatty Acid Oxidation in Lymphocyte Populations of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Abstract:

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a disabling multisystem illness in which individuals are plagued with fatigue, inflammatory symptoms, cognitive dysfunction, and the hallmark symptom, post-exertional malaise. While the cause of this disease remains unknown, there is evidence of a potential infectious component that, along with patient symptoms and common onsets of the disease, implicates immune system dysfunction. To further our understanding of the state of ME/CFS lymphocytes, we characterized the role of fatty acids in isolated Natural Killer cells, CD4+ T cells, and CD8+ T cells in circulation and after overnight stimulation, through implicit perturbations to fatty acid oxidation.

We examined samples obtained from at least 8 and as many as 20 subjects for immune cell fatty acid characterization in a variety of experiments and found that all three isolated cell types increased their utilization of lipids and levels of pertinent proteins involved in this metabolic pathway in ME/CFS samples, particularly during higher energy demands and activation. In T cells, we characterized the cell populations contributing to these metabolic shifts, which included CD4+ memory cells, CD4+ effector cells, CD8+ naïve cells, and CD8+ memory cells.

We also discovered that patients with ME/CFS and healthy control samples had significant correlations between measurements of CD4+ T cell fatty acid metabolism and demographic data. These findings provide support for metabolic dysfunction in ME/CFS immune cells. We further hypothesize about the consequences that these altered fuel dependencies may have on T and NK cell effector function, which may shed light on the illness’s mechanism of action.

Source: Maya J, Leddy SM, Gottschalk CG, Peterson DL, Hanson MR. Altered Fatty Acid Oxidation in Lymphocyte Populations of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Jan 19;24(3):2010. doi: 10.3390/ijms24032010. PMID: 36768336; PMCID: PMC9916395. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9916395/ (Full text)

Investigating the Genetic and Immunological Aetiology of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Abstract:

This thesis describes two investigations into the disease Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), specifically its genetic aetiology and immune system alterations.

The first study investigated the genetic basis of ME/CFS using Genome-wide Association Studies (GWAS) by attempting to replicate and extend results previously found using UK Biobank cohort data. GWAS attempt to identify associations between DNA variants and phenotypes. T his GWAS was novel, conducted on new phenotypes constructed by combining those in the most up-to-date UK Biobank data release. A new, previously unseen, genome-wide significant association was found on chromosome 6 for males with ME/CFS within the gene PDE10A. Further results were not genome-wide significant, but many were suggestive and hence independent replication may justify further research.

A previous analysis on the UK Biobank cohort had identified an indicative association in females between variants around the SLC25A15 gene at genome-wide significance. I adopted a hypothesis that the dietary protein intake of people with the CFS risk variants would be lower than those with the alternative alleles, due to potentially reduced production of mitochondrial ornithine transporter 1 (ORNT1). However, this association with dietary protein intake was not supported by UK Biobank data.

Additionally, I investigated associations between the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles and the ME/CFS phenotype using UK Biobank data. Associations between alleles within the HLA-C and -DQB1 genes had previously been found in a cohort of Norwegian people with ME/CFS, and my goal was to seek replication of these results in a larger dataset. None of the associations found in the UK Biobank proved to be genome-wide significant.

In my second study I investigated the use of T-cell clonal diversity as a potential biomarker for ME/CFS. This project used cells from CureME Biobank samples in collaboration with Systems Biology Laboratory (SBL). I developed a data analysis pipeline to analyse T-cell receptor (TCR) genomic DNA data based on the best practices currently used in the fields of immunology and mathematical biology. This approach used a mathematical notion of entropy as a measure for the diversity of TCR repertoires, in this way combining all of the most commonly used metrics in mathematical biology. When combined, these measures form a profile for each repertoire, a set of which can be sorted using a machine learning algorithm to partition the repertoires into subgroups.

My hypothesis was that the T-cell clonal expansion of people with ME/CFS would be greater than for healthy controls, and comparable to disease (multiple sclerosis) controls. Although this method was able to effectively classify TCR chains using simulated data, results from experimentally-derived data did not support the hypothesis, with the most effective classifications for both CD4+ and CD8+ cells failing to pass corrections for multiple hypothesis significance testing.

Lay summary

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a disease that affects millions of people around the world. Very little is understood about the cause or progression of the disease, and there is no known cure. At present, there is also no reliable clinical test to determine whether a person has ME/CFS.

This thesis explores the potential for a genetic or immunological basis for ME/CFS, with the goal to eventually find a biomarker that could be used in diagnosis.

The first part of this thesis investigates whether genetic variants are more (or less) common among those with ME/CFS than in the general population. In particular, the region of the genome that encodes immune system proteins was of interest, as previous studies have shown associations between this region and the disease.

Using strict statistical thresholds, none of the previously found associations were replicated. However, one new association was found, with the gene PDE10A, which is implicated in central nervous system diseases, such as Parkinsons and Huntingtons disease. This association has never been seen before, and would require replication in a new cohort before its role in ME/CFS could be confirmed. However, it represents a promising avenue for new research.

The second part of this thesis investigates T-cells. These are highly specialised immune cells in the blood, each of which targets an antigen (foreign substance) such as from a virus. When a T-cell recognises this antigen, it clones itself repeatedly. This clonal expansion is measurable, and can serve as evidence of immune system activation.

My hypothesis was that this immune signature could be used to distinguish people with ME/CFS from healthy controls and others diagnosed with another disease.

I used a mathematical measure of diversity and a machine learning method to sort their immune profiles into groups. However, the pattern of immune activation was not sufficiently clear to provide consistent classification. Hence, the role of the immune system in ME/CFS is still unclear, and the utility of this method as a diagnostic biomarker is not proved.

Source: Joshua James Dibble. Investigating the Genetic and Immunological Aetiology of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. PhD Thesis [University of Edinburgh]  https://era.ed.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1842/39763/DibbleJJ_2022.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y (Full text)

Stress-Induced Transcriptomic Changes in Females with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Reveal Disrupted Immune Signatures

Abstract:

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a chronic, complex multi-organ illness characterized by unexplained debilitating fatigue and post-exertional malaise (PEM), which is defined as a worsening of symptoms following even minor physical or mental exertion. Our study aimed to evaluate transcriptomic changes in ME/CFS female patients undergoing an exercise challenge intended to precipitate PEM.
Our time points (baseline before exercise challenge, the point of maximal exertion, and after an exercise challenge) allowed for the exploration of the transcriptomic response to exercise and recovery in female patients with ME/CFS, as compared to healthy controls (HCs). Under maximal exertion, ME/CFS patients did not show significant changes in gene expression, while HCs demonstrated altered functional gene networks related to signaling and integral functions of their immune cells.
During the recovery period (commonly during onset of PEM), female ME/CFS patients showed dysregulated immune signaling pathways and dysfunctional cellular responses to stress. The unique functional pathways identified provide a foundation for future research efforts into the disease, as well as for potential targeted treatment options.
Source: Van Booven DJ, Gamer J, Joseph A, Perez M, Zarnowski O, Pandya M, Collado F, Klimas N, Oltra E, Nathanson L. Stress-Induced Transcriptomic Changes in Females with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Reveal Disrupted Immune Signatures. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2023; 24(3):2698. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24032698 https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/3/2698 (Full text)

The Role of Immunity and Inflammation in ME/ CFS and Post-COVID Syndrome: Implications for Treatment

Abstract:

Probably one in seven patients who have experienced acute COVID-19 continue having long-lasting complaints, called post-COVID syndrome or long-COVID, that are similar to those observed in patients with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS).

There are good reasons to believe that common immunological, epigenetic and inflammatory mechanisms are involved in the pathogenesis both diseases.

To date, various therapeutic approaches have been recommended, but with moderate success. In the present opinion paper, the author weights his clinical experience against data from the literature, and suggests novel approaches.

In addition to general measures and paramedical approaches, food supplementation with a specific nutraceutical can be completed by oral administration of sodium dichloroacetate and Meldonium to optimize glucose metabolism and mitochondrial energy generation.

Alternatively, intravenous infusions with magnesium salt and multivitamins can be completed with glutathione, m-tranexamic acid, and cultured stem cells.

Preliminary results of an open-label, prospective, two-centre trial suggest more than four in five patients benefit from combined oral and infusion therapy with significantly diminished fatigue and improved well-being.

Monoclonal antibodies in “biologicals”, blocking the effects of cytokines, and “small molecules” with Janus kinase inhibiting activity may offer novel opportunities by focusing on both immunologic and inflammation targets. A pilot trial with, in particular, one of the Janus kinase inhibitors could be considered.

Source: Comhaire F. The Role of Immunity and Inflammation in ME/CFS and Post-COVID Syndrome: Implications for Treatment. MedLife Clinics 2022, Volume 4 (2), Article 1043 http://www.medtextpublications.com/open-access/the-role-of-immunity-and-inflammation-in-me-cfs-and-1254.pdf (Full text)

The Role of Leptin and Inflammatory Related Biomarkers in Individuals with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Purpose: Leptin is a member of the cytokine family; its receptor (LEPR-b) is the longest form receptor expressed in cells of the immune system; wherein LEPR-b deficiency causes a decrease in CD4+ cells. LEPR-b is located in hypothalamic and brain stem nuclei, and it primarily regulates energy status. As well, leptin indirectly regulates widespread pain and exercise tolerance by decreasing circulating cortisol.

Hyperinsulinemia increases leptin production in adipocytes on a diurnal rhythm; however, the precise relationship between insulin, leptin and pro-inflammatory markers remains uncertain. In clinical settings, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) has been widely used, as an inflammatory predictor for leptin-related cardiometabolic outcomes and chronic inflammatory symptoms.

Leptin-related metabolic and inflammation dysregulations have been clinically reported in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), but not fully elucidated. We examined the association of plasma insulin, leptin, and hsCRP levels with ME/CFS self-reported symptom severity.

Methods: Prospective analyses were conducted on ME/CFS patients who met Fukuda/CDC criteria at Birmingham hospital, Alabama, U.S.A. The independent variables were hyperinsulinemia (>174 μIU/mL), hyperleptinemia/hypoleptinemia (>18.3/<3.3 ng/mL), residual inflammation risk (hsCRP ≥2 and ≠26.2 mg/L) and within-individual-variability (WIV) for each biomarker.

WIV was defined for each individual as standard deviation/sample residuals adjusting for time and calculated from once-daily random plasma samples over 10–12 weeks.

The primary outcomes were:

(1) ME/CFS symptom score trends [generalized pain, persistent fatigue, sleep disturbance, impairment of concentration and memory (brain fog), and post-exertional malaise (PEM)] calculated from the MFI-20 questionnaire with anchors from 0 to 100 and recorded once daily over a matching 12–14 weeks, and

(2) dichotomized symptom severity, with severe symptoms defined as scores > 60/100. After adjusting for age and time, we reported: (1) standard errors (SEM) and p-values for symptom trends using multivariable mixed-effect linear regression models, and (2) odds ratios for severe symptoms using multivariable alternating logistic regression models.

Results: We included 29 ME/CFS patients. All were females and >18 years old. Hyperinsulinemia, hyperleptinemia/hypoleptinemia, and residual inflammation risk were 7%, 80%/7%, and 74%, respectively.

The medians of insulin-WIV, leptin-WIV and hsCRP-WIV were [(0.24; IQR 0.15–0.38), (0.25; IQR 0.15–0.40), (0.33; IQR 0.18–0.51)] respectively. On average, hyperleptinemic patients had the highest leptin-WIV and 50% of them had residual inflammation risk.

Severe (fatigue, pain, brain fog, sleep disturbance, and PEM) were reported in 50%, 29%, 41%, 30%, and 57% of patients, respectively. In the adjusted analysis, worse fatigue scores (7.49; SEM, 2.23; p = 0.002) were associated with higher insulin-WIV.

Hyperleptinemia (OR 1.54; 95% CI 1.13–2.09) compared to hypoleptinemia, and residual inflammation risk (OR 1.65; 95% CI 1.21–2.25) were associated with higher odds of severe fatigue. Worse pain scores (7.17; SEM, 2.30; p = 0.005) were associated with higher leptin-WIV, and (8.45; SEM, 2.25; p = 0.0009) higher hsCRP-WIV, and residual inflammation risk (OR 1.75; 95% CI 1.34–2.29) was associated with higher odds of severe pain.

Severe brain fog scores (9.20; SEM, 2.44; p = 0.0008) were associated with higher insulin-WIV, higher leptin-WIV (4.73; SEM, 2.12; p = 0.03). Residual inflammation risk (OR 1.40; 95% CI 1.16–1.77) was associated with higher odds of severe brain fog.

Hyperleptinemia (OR 0.60; 95% CI 0.43–1.19) was associated with lower odds of severe PEM compared to hypoleptinemia, and better sleep quality was associated (6.07; SEM, 1.70; p = 0.001) with higher insulin-WIV, and (3.37; SEM, 1.47; p = 0.03) higher leptin-WIV.

Conclusions: In patients with ME/CFS, symptoms severity was associated with hyperleptinemia, inflammation and within-individual-variability of these biomarkers. Leptin and hsCRP may be clinically useful in predicting symptom severity.

Larger clinical trials are needed to further examine the prediction and causality of these biomarkers in the development of ME/CFS diagnosis. The efficacy and safety of anti-inflammatory therapies may be evaluated in sub-clusters of ME/CFS with metabolic responses and inflammation dysregulations to improve patient-reported symptoms.

Source: Rahaf Al Assil and Jarred W Younger. “The Role of Leptin and Inflammatory Related Biomarkers in Individuals with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome” in Karandrea S, Agarwal N, Organizing Committee of Cardiometabolic Health Congress. Report from the Scientific Poster Session at the 16th Annual Cardiometabolic Health Congress in National Harbor, USA, 14–17 October 2021. Proceedings. 2022; 80(1):6. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2022080006 (Full text)

Autoantibody Correlation Signatures in Fibromyalgia and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Association with Symptom Severity

Abstract:

Background: Recent studies provide some evidence for the contribution of antibody-mediated autoimmune mechanisms to the nature of fibromyalgia (FM) and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Much attention was paid to the autoantibodies (AAb) targeting G protein-coupled receptors as natural components of the immune system. However, natural AAb network is much more extensive, and has not been previously investigated in these disorders;

Methods: The enzyme immunoassays ELI-Viscero-Test and ELI-Neuro-Test were used to determine changes in serum content of a 33 natural AAb to neural, organ-specific and non-tissue-specific autoantigens a) in 11 FM patients with comorbid ME/CFS; b) in 11 ME/CFS patients without FM; c) in 11 healthy controls. Individual autoantibody profiles and their correlation with some clinical symptoms were analyzed.

Results: Both patients with ME/CFS and ME/CFS+FM were characterized by more frequent and pronounced deviations in the immunoreactivity to GABA-receptors than healthy controls. Although the level of other natural AAb did not differ between study groups, AAb correlation signatures were changing in patients compared to healthy controls. Both in patients and healthy controls the level of natural AAb to various neural and tissue-specific antigens correlated with the severity of fatigue, bodily pain, depression, anxiety, physical and mental-health related quality of life. Notably, that widely different correlation patterns were observed between study groups.

Conclusions: Findings from this pilot study provide some evidence that the homeostasis of autoimmune relationships, which are possibly a physiological part of our immune system, may break down in FM and ME/CFS. The correlation of disease-induced perturbations in individual AAb profiles with some clinical symptoms may arise from the immune system’s ability to reflect qualitative and quantitative changes in antigenic composition of the body.

Source: Ryabkova, V.A.; Gavrilova, N.Y.; Poletaeva, A.A.; Pukhalenko, A.I.; Koshkina, I.A.; Churilov, L.P.; Shoenfeld, Y. Autoantibody Correlation Signatures in Fibromyalgia and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Association with Symptom Severity . Preprints 2022, 2022120224 (doi: 10.20944/preprints202212.0224.v1). https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202212.0224/v1 (Full text available as PDF file)

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: The Human Herpesviruses Are Back!

Abstract:

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) or Systemic Exertion Intolerance Disease (SEID) is a chronic multisystem illness of unconfirmed etiology. There are currently no biomarkers and/or signatures available to assist in the diagnosis of the syndrome and while numerous mechanisms have been hypothesized to explain the pathology of ME/CFS, the triggers and/or drivers remain unknown.

Initial studies suggested a potential role of the human herpesviruses especially Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in the disease process but inconsistent and conflicting data led to the erroneous suggestion that these viruses had no role in the syndrome. New studies using more advanced approaches have now demonstrated that specific proteins encoded by EBV could contribute to the immune and neurological abnormalities exhibited by a subgroup of patients with ME/CFS. Elucidating the role of these herpesvirus proteins in ME/CFS may lead to the identification of specific biomarkers and the development of novel therapeutics.

Source: Ariza ME. Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: The Human Herpesviruses Are Back! Biomolecules. 2021 Jan 29;11(2):185. doi: 10.3390/biom11020185. PMID: 33572802; PMCID: PMC7912523. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7912523/ (Full text)