Sjögren, Per, Huhmar, Helena, Bertilson, Bo C et al. · Frontiers in neurology · 2025 · DOI
This small study tested whether giving patients with ME/CFS regular salt water infusions through an IV could help with symptoms like dizziness and rapid heartbeat when standing up. Twenty-two patients received these infusions every three weeks for 9 weeks, and most reported feeling better, with improvements in symptom scores, quality of life, and ability to work. While the results were encouraging, this was a preliminary study without a control group, so more research is needed to confirm whether this treatment actually works.
Dysautonomic symptoms like orthostatic intolerance and postural tachycardia are severely disabling in ME/CFS and lack uniformly effective treatments. This study suggests a relatively simple, accessible intervention (IV saline) may alleviate these symptoms and improve quality of life and work capacity, potentially opening a new therapeutic avenue for this population.
This case-series cannot prove that IV saline infusions cause symptom improvement, as there is no control group and improvements could result from placebo effect, natural fluctuation, or concurrent treatments. The study's small size (n=22) and reliance on self-reported measures also limit generalizability. Long-term efficacy and optimal dosing regimens remain unestablished.
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 →
Contribute
Private, reviewed by a human. Not a public comment thread.