Abstract
Background: Asthma is associated with increased production of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species and an alteration in the levels of antioxidants activities in the lung and blood. The increased production of the superoxide anion radicals contributes to airway remodelling and disease severity. Physiologically, the effect of increased free radical generation is eliminated by corresponding activities of a network of antioxidants. Presently, there is the dearth of information on the steady-state concentrations of nitric oxide (NO) and uric acid (UA) in children with asthma. The serum and urinary levels of NO and UA in children with asthma were thus determined in this study. Methodology: Fifty children consisting of 25 children with asthma and 25 age-matched apparently healthy children without asthma were enrolled into this study. Serum and urinary levels of NO and UA were determined using standard methods. Results: Serum levels of NO and UA were significantly higher while the urinary levels of NO and UA were significantly lower in children with asthma compared with the controls. There was no significant correlation between the serum ad urinary levels of NO and UA in children with asthma. Also, gender differences were not observed in the serum and urinary levels of NO and UA in children with asthma. Conclusion: Children with asthma have elevated serum levels of NO and UA accompanied with suboptimal urinary excretion. Therefore, children with asthma might benefit from routine renal function assessment owing to damages that can result from systemic accumulation of UA with concomitant reduction in its urinary excretion.
Highlights
Asthma is a heterogenic chronic inflammatory disease involving a variety of gene-environment interactions
The serum levels of nitric oxide (NO) and uric acid (UA) were significantly higher in children with asthma compared with the controls
The urinary levels of NO and UA were significantly lower in children with asthma compared with the controls
Summary
Asthma is a heterogenic chronic inflammatory disease involving a variety of gene-environment interactions. The lungs and airways of the children are inflamed when exposed to triggers and this interferes with play, sports, school and sleep of the children (de Benedictis and Attanasi, 2016; Hoch et al, , 2019) This indicates that many children with asthma especially in Africa, where problems such as overutilization of health services, lack of trained staff and diagnostic apparatus, and non-availability as well as non-affordability of inhaled medications impair early diagnosis and quality management, may fail to achieve their full potential if proper management and control measures are not put in place (Pearce and Strachan, 2011; Uijen et al, , 2008). In asthma, a number of immune cells, infiltrating the lungs, play important roles in the pathogenesis of asthma These cells include mast cells, eosinophils, neutrophils, macrophages, epithelial cells, and T cells. The report of Batra et al (2007) showed that elevated NO levels is associated with risk genotypes and could be responsible for the pro-inflammatory role of NO in asthma patients. This study was designed to determine the serum and urinary levels of nitric oxide and uric acid as well as possible gender differences in their levels in children with asthma
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
