Level of serum neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin in childhood asthma

BACKGROUND: The role of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) in childhood asthma remains unknown. This study aimed to measure the serum levels of NGAL in children with asthma and to investigate the correlation between NGAL and transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1), a good indicator of airway remodeling in children with asthma. METHODS: This prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted on 75 children. Serum NGAL and TGF-β1 concentrations were measured by the ELISA method. Complete blood count, high sensitive C reactive protein (hsCRP), eosinophil cationic protein (ECP), and total serum IgE were investigated in the study population. Atopy in the asthma group was investigated using a skin prick test and specific IgE measurements. RESULTS: Forty-three asthmatic children and 32 healthy children were enrolled in the study. Total eosinophil numbers, white blood cell count, total serum IgE levels and ECP levels were significantly higher in the asthma group than in the control group (p < 0.05). Similarly, serum TGF-β1 levels were significantly higher in children with asthma (p = 0.012). The difference in NGAL levels between the groups was insignificant (p = 0.268). NGAL levels did not show a significant correlation with total IgE, ECP, eosinophil numbers and TGF-β1 levels (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: As a conclusion, while elevated TGF-β1 levels in children with asthma might be regarded as an indicator of airway remodeling, we did not find a similar prediction strength for NGAL. Further studies are required to better identify the role of NGAL in childhood asthma and to determine its potential use as a clinical marker

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The role of mean platelet volume as an inflammatory marker in children with chronic spontaneous urticaria

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown that platelets are involved in the inflammatory process. Mean platelet volume (MPV) has been frequently used as an inflammatory marker in various diseases associated with inflammation. The role of MPV in children with chronic spontaneous urticaria (CU), however, has not yet been evaluated. In this study we compared MPV levels between children with and without CU. METHODS: Children with CU and age-matched healthy children were enrolled in the study. Complete blood count and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were assessed in children with CU whilst MPV levels were compared between children with and without CU. RESULTS: Forty children with CU (19 males; mean age: 8.0 ± 3.8 year; range: 3---15 years) and 40 healthy children (17 males; mean age: 6.9 ± 3.0 year; range: 2---14 year) were enrolled on the prospective, case-control study. MPV (fL) levels were significantly lower in children with CU when compared to healthy children (7.42 ± 0.77 and 7.89 ± 0.65, respectively; p = 0.004). Both mean platelet number and median CRP levels were significantly higher in children with CU when compared to healthy children (p = 0.008, p = 0.014, respectively). CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this study is the first to evaluate the role of MPV as an inflammatory marker in children with CU. A decline in MPV may be considered as an indicator of inflammation in children with CU

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Elevated level of serum osteopontin in school-age children with asthma

BACKGROUND: The role of osteopontin (OPN) has not been elucidated in childhood asthma. OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to investigate whether OPN levels change due to allergic inflammation in pre-school and school-age children. METHODS: In this prospective, cross-sectional study, 42 healthy children and a total of 51 children with asthma were recruited. OPN levels and its association with clinical and laboratory parameters were investigated in the study population. The asthma group were divided into two groups with respect to age, ≤5-years (n = 23) and >5-years (n = 28), and labelled Asthma Group 1 and Asthma Group 2, respectively. OPN levels were compared between subgroups. RESULTS: Serum OPN levels were significantly higher in the asthma group when compared to the control group (p = 0.004). OPN levels were similar in Asthma Group 1 and control groups, whereas it was found to be higher in Asthma Group 2 (p > 0.025, p = 0.001, respectively). In the >5-years age asthmatic group, OPN levels of the patients with allergic rhinitis (n = 15) were higher than those of the patients (n = 13) without allergic rhinitis (p = 0.021). CONCLUSION: The study underscores the relationship between childhood asthma and OPN as the first study in the literature. In this study we found that OPN, which plays a role in Th2 mediated inflammation, may also play a role in childhood asthma. The fact that OPN levels do not increase in preschool-age children with asthma might be due to the transient wheezing in this group

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