Cytokines in nasal lavage fluids from acute sinusitis, allergic rhinitis, and chronic fatigue syndrome subjects.

The aim of this study was to compare the degree of inflammation present in acute sinusitis, allergic rhinitis, chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), and non-CFS control subjects by measuring cytokine concentrations in nasal lavage fluids. The concentrations of total protein (TP; Lowry assay), nerve growth factor (NGF), tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha, and interleukin (IL)-8 were measured by ELISA in nasal lavage fluids from acute sinusitis (n = 13), active allergic rhinitis (n = 16), CFS (n = 95), and non-CFS (n = 89) subjects. CFS and non-CFS groups were subdivided further using allergy skin test and rhinitis score results. Acute sinusitis subjects had significantly higher TP (p = 0.011, ANOVA), TNF-alpha (p = 0.00071), and IL-8 (p = 0.0000027) concentrations and IL-8/TP ratios (p = 0.0030) than the other three patient groups. There were no differences based on skin test or rhinitis score severity within either the CFS or non-CFS groups. The mucopurulent discharge of acute sinusitis contained significantly higher TNF-alpha and IL-8. Neutrophils were a likely source for these cytokines. There were no differences between CFS and non-CFS subjects, making it unlikely that the rhinitis of CFS has an inflammatory component.