Kakumanu, Sujani S, Mende, Cathy N, Lehman, Erik B et al. · The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association · 2003
This study tested whether a nasal steroid spray could help people with ME/CFS who also have nasal inflammation and congestion. Twenty-eight patients received either the steroid spray or a placebo (fake spray) in different orders over 8 weeks. The spray did reduce daytime sleepiness, but it did not improve the core ME/CFS symptoms like fatigue, muscle pain, or problems with activity.
Many ME/CFS patients experience nasal congestion and sleep disruption. This study helps clarify whether treating rhinitis symptoms can improve ME/CFS fatigue, and suggests that the underlying cause of rhinitis in ME/CFS differs from typical allergic rhinitis, pointing toward distinct biological mechanisms that warrant further investigation.
This study does not establish that rhinitis plays no role in ME/CFS symptom severity; it only shows that treating nasal inflammation alone does not resolve core ME/CFS pathology. The findings apply only to patients with both conditions and cannot determine whether non-allergic rhinitis in ME/CFS arises from immune dysfunction, neurological factors, or other mechanisms. It also does not address whether treating rhinitis in patients without ME/CFS follows the same pattern.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
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