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Serum Eosinophil-Derived Neurotoxin (EDN) in Diagnosis and Evaluation of Severity and Bronchial Hyperresponsiveness in Childhood Asthma

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Abstract

This study sought to evaluate the use of serum eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN), which has been proposed as a marker of airway inflammation in asthma in the diagnosis and evaluation of the severity and bronchial hyperresponsiveness in childhood asthma. We studied 72 children with atopic asthma, 36 children with nonatopic asthma, and 43 healthy controls. Skin prick tests, pulmonary function tests, and methacholine challenge tests were performed, in addition to total eosinophil count, serum ECP, and EDN being measured in all subjects. EDN levels were significantly higher in the atopic asthma group than those in the nonatopic asthma group or control group (p < 0.001), as were ECP levels (p < 0.001). EDN levels differed more significantly among groups divided by asthma severity (p < 0.001) than did ECP levels for these groups (p < 0.05). For the groups divided according to bronchial hyperresponsiveness, both EDN and ECP levels were significantly different (p < 0.005 and p < 0.01, respectively). Significant correlations were found between EDN and PC20 (γ = −0.281; p < 0.001), between ECP and PC20 (γ = −0.274; p < 0.005), and between EDN and ECP (γ = 0.443; p < 0.001). In conclusion, serum EDN, as another marker of eosinophilic inflammation together with ECP, may aid in the diagnosis of asthma, especially atopic asthma, and in the evaluation of the severity and bronchial hyperresponsiveness in childhood asthma.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics and Institute of Allergy, Brain Korea 21 Project for Medical Sciences, Biomolecule Secretion Research Center, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

    Kyung Won Kim, Kyung Eun Lee, Eun Soo Kim, Tae Won Song, Myung Hyun Sohn & Kyu-Earn Kim

  2. Department of Pediatrics and Institute of Allergy, Brain Korea 21 Project for Medical Sciences, Biomolecule Secretion Research Center, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Severance Hospital, CPO Box 8044, Seoul, 120-752, Korea

    Myung Hyun Sohn

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  1. Kyung Won Kim
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  2. Kyung Eun Lee
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  3. Eun Soo Kim
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Correspondence to Myung Hyun Sohn.

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Kim, K.W., Lee, K.E., Kim, E.S. et al. Serum Eosinophil-Derived Neurotoxin (EDN) in Diagnosis and Evaluation of Severity and Bronchial Hyperresponsiveness in Childhood Asthma. Lung 185, 97–103 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00408-006-0054-8

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