TREATMENT DATABASE

Nystatin is an antifungal medication. In the 1940s, two scientists found a bacterium in soil that inhibited the growth of molds. They discovered that the bacterium binds to ergosterol, a major component of the cell membrane of the fungus. When the bacterium was sufficient concentrations, it formed pores in the membrane that produced leakage and eventually led to the death of the fungus. They named the substance “nystatin,” after New York State, where it was discovered. The drug was patented in the 1950s, and for the next twenty years nystatin was primarily used in suppositories to treat vaginitis. It was popularized in the early 1980s, when studies by several clinicians chronicled the successful treatment of chronic candidiasis (yeast infection) with nystatin.

USES IN ME/CFS: Because candidiasis is a condition that produces extreme fatigue, depression, muscle pain, concentration problems, along with other symptoms which are common in ME/CFS, many patients turned to antifungal regimens in the 1980s. Dr. Murray Susser and Dr. Michael Rosenbaum, among other physicians, used antifungal medications when symptoms of Candida infection were present, especially when accompanied by a medical history of antibiotic or steroid use that may have contributed to Candida overgrowth. As an additional aid to determining whether an antifungal regimen might be helpful, a number of physicians use stool tests to measure Candida levels.

Treatment rating for Nystatin