title: Biomarkers in asthmatic patients: Has their time come to direct treatment?
abstract: Asthma is a heterogeneous disease with multiple phenotypes that have variable risk factors and responses to therapeutics. Mild-to-moderate asthma often responds to traditional medications, whereas severe disease can be refractory to inhaled corticosteroids, long-acting β-agonists, and leukotriene receptor antagonists. There is robust research into the variable phenotypes of asthma. Biomarkers help define the specific pathophysiology of different asthma phenotypes and identify potential therapeutic targets. The following review will discuss the current use of biomarkers for the diagnosis of asthma, triaging the severity of a patient's disease, and the potential efficacy of treatments. This information can be used to define certain patient populations that are more likely to respond to inhaled corticosteroids or biologics. As knowledge of patient phenotypes and endotypes and biological agents to target specific classes of asthma emerge, the ability to provide personalized care to asthmatic patients will follow.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Section of Allergy Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wis.
authors.forename: Alalia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Berry
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Section of Allergy Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wis. Electronic address: wwb@medicine.wisc.edu.
authors.forename: William W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Busse
mesh_terms: D001249:Asthma / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism*; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000378:metabolism; D004804:Eosinophils / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000276:immunology; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; C512835:POSTN protein, human; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D007073:Immunoglobulin E
keywords: Asthma; IgE; biomarkers; eosinophil; nitric oxide; periostin