They say this discovery opens the door to the first effective treatment for this problem, the most common chronic disease in the United States. An estimated 37 million people in the U.S. suffer from chronic sinusitis, an inflammation of the membranes of the nose and sinus cavity. Its incidence has been increasing steadily over the last decade.
Common symptoms are runny nose, nasal congestion, loss of smell and headaches.
Frequently the chronic inflammation leads to polyps, small growths in the nasal passages which hinder breathing. Their report appears in this month's issue of the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings . Our studies indicate that, in fact, fungus is likely the cause of nearly all of these problems. And it is not an allergic reaction, but an immune reaction. The researchers studied 210 patients with chronic sinusitis.