Northwestern gets grant to study sinus infection

Research on a type of long-lasting sinus infection is getting a boost at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago.

Northwestern's Sinus and Allergy Center has received a grant of more than $8.4 million to study chronic rhinosinusitis (RY'-noh-sy-nyoo-sy-tis), also called CRS, and to develop new treatments.

The grant money comes from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.

Patients with CRS have pain and congestion in the sinuses caused by inflammation from an infection or other irritants. It can last from more than 12 weeks to several years. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says nearly 30 million Americans suffer from CRS.

Northwestern Medicine is the collaboration of Northwestern Memorial HealthCare and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.