Biomarkers of asthma and allergic airway diseases - 2015 review

New biomarkers for disease presence, susceptibility, and differential response to treatment are being developed. These biomarkers are laying the foundation for “personalized” medicine whereby medical treatments can be tailored to individual characteristics as opposed to the “one-size-fits-all” model of current management guidelines.



Arachidonic acid. Image source: Wikipedia.

This article reviewed nitric oxide and protein biomarkers as opposed to expression of genes or specific genetic variants:

- Exhaled Nitric Oxide, Nitric Oxide Oxidation Products
- Eosinophil-Related Proteins (Serum eosinophil cationic protein, Urinary bromotyrosine)
- Extracellular Matrix Proteins (Periostin, Chitinase-like proteins)
- Arachidonic Acid Metabolism Byproducts (Leukotriene E4, Lipoxins)

References:

Biomarkers of asthma and allergic airway diseases. Anne M. Fitzpatrick. Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, November 2015, Volume 115, Issue 5, Pages 335–340 (free full text).
http://www.annallergy.org/article/S1081-1206(15)00589-X/fulltext

Disclaimer: I have been the Editor of the World Allergy Organization (WAO) Small Airways Working Group "What's New?" monthly summary since 2011. The summary features the top 3 asthma/small airways articles each month. The article above is part of the project. The archive is here: http://www.worldallergy.org/small_airways_group/reviews/archive.php