title: Serum levels of resistin in allergic rhinitis and its relationship with disease severity.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Resistin, a recently discovered adipokine, has been shown to have proinflammatory properties in humans. The purpose of this study was to evaluate serum resistin levels in children with allergic rhinitis (AR) and to investigate its association with clinical disease severity, parameters of atopy and pro-/anti-inflammatory cytokines.
  
  
  METHODS
  A case-controlled study was performed on 50 pediatric patients with persistent AR and 30 healthy controls with similar age, sex, and body mass index. Serum levels of resistin, parameters of atopy, and cytokines were analyzed. The nasal symptom scores were evaluated and patients were classified into mild (n = 20) and moderate-severe (n = 30) persistent AR.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Serum levels of resistin were significantly increased in children with AR compared with controls (p < 0.001). Serum levels of resistin went hand in hand with disease severity as they were significantly higher in moderate-severe than mild persistent AR. In addition, they correlated positively with nasal symptom scores (r = 0.74; p < 0.001). A significant positive correlation was observed between serum levels of resistin and IL-6 (r = 0.358; p = 0.011).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients with persistent AR were found to have higher serum levels of resistin, and resistin levels increased with the progress of disease severity. Resistin may represent a novel link between inflammation and AR.
authors.affiliation: Division of Allergy and Immunology, Children's Medical Center, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Kai-Chung
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Hsueh
authors.forename: Ching-Yuang
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Ying-Ju
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D047150:Eosinophil Cationic Protein / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D052243:Resistin / Q000097:blood*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012221:Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D016207:Cytokines; D052243:Resistin; D007073:Immunoglobulin E; D047150:Eosinophil Cationic Protein