Table 3.
Measurements of endothelial function, ME/CFS group at baseline vs. at 12 months.
| FMD baseline vs. 12 months median (range). |
ME/CFS baseline, n = 27 |
ME/CFS 12 months, n = 27 |
P-value |
|---|---|---|---|
| FMD, per cent | 5.7 (0.5–13.1) | 5.3 (0.2–15.4) | 0.9 |
| Arterial diameter at rest, mm | 2.98 (2.29–4.47) | 3.14 (2.38–4.61) | 0.02 |
| Absolute increase in mm | 0.19 (0.02–0.33) | 0.18 (0.01–0.48) | 0.85 |
| Arterial diameter after nitroglycerina, mm | 3.70 (2.90–5.30) | 3.77 (2.91–5.38) | 0.07 |
| Increase in diameter after nitroglycerinb, per cent | 25.3 (11.2–42.4) | 23.5 (11.6–35.6) | 0.75 |
| FMD/nitro ratioc | 0.23 (0.02–0.51) | 0.22 (0.2–0.46) | 0.75 |
| PORH baseline vs. 12 months median (range) |
ME/CFS baseline, n = 34 |
ME/CFS 12 months, n = 34 |
P-value |
| PORH, perfusion units | 1,323 (343–4,334) | 1,428 (387–4,335) | 0.18 |
Only patients with values for both timepoints included, and analyzed by Wilcoxon signed ranks test.
Maximum dilation after sublingual administration of nitroglycerin, absolute value.
Maximum dilation after sublingual administration of nitroglycerin, increase in percent compared to baseline.
Ratio of FMD (in percent) by maximum dilation after nitroglycerin (in per cent). Missing data: 2 patients withdrew from study before 12 months, one of whom also failed to complete measurements at baseline. Four patients failed to complete measurements at 12 months, due to intercurrent illness or non-compliance with preparations. For FMD, a further 7 cases were excluded from comparative analyses due to inadequate FMD image quality at either time point. ME/CFS, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome; FMD, Flow-mediated dilation; PORH, Post-occlusive reactive hyperemia. Italics denote statistically significant values.