As per the latest study conducted by researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, it was found that low doses of hydrocortisone (steroid) can bring slight improvements in patients suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) symptoms but at the cost of a possible risk to adrenal suppression.

Stephen E. Straus, M.D., Chief of the Laboratory of Clinical Investigation at NIAID and Senior Author on the study commented that the kind of adrenal suppression in context of the steroid seems to be justified for treatment of CFS patients.

From News.Bio-Medicine.Org:

“The data show that about half the people on placebo and two-thirds of those taking hydrocortisone reported some improvement in well-being,” comments Stephen E. Straus, M.D., chief of the Laboratory of Clinical Investigation at NIAID and senior author on the study. “The greater benefit seen in the hydrocortisone group, however, was modest, and there was clear evidence of adrenal suppression by the drug.” Twelve of 33 patients on the therapy developed laboratory evidence of adrenal insufficiency. “It was manageable and completely reversible,” says Dr. Straus, “but it’s the kind of suppression that in the context of minimal improvement afforded by the drug cannot, in our minds, justify using this treatment for CFS.

The study was closely watched by the medical world with a hope that the troubling woes of CFS patients will finally come to an end. But, the risk of suppression is a bit of a concern. This is the reason why Strauss is further testing fludrocortisone in 100 patients with CFS and neurally mediated hypotension with his team so that the potential danger of adrenal suppression can be completely outplayed.