title: Higher serum levels of periostin and the risk of exacerbations in moderate asthmatics.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In asthma, exacerbations and poor disease control are linked to airway allergic inflammation. Serum periostin has been proposed as a systemic biomarker of eosinophilic inflammation. This pilot study aims at evaluating whether in patients with moderate asthma, higher baseline levels of serum periostin are associated with a greater risk of exacerbation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifteen outpatients with moderate allergic asthma were recruited. Serum concentrations of periostin were assessed (ELISA) at baseline, and the frequency of asthma exacerbations was recorded during a one-year follow-up.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients (M/F: 10/5, mean age of 47.6 ± 11.0 years) had mean ACQ score of 5.5 ± 4.2 and FEV1%pred of 81.9 ± 21.7 %. Baseline serum levels of periostin did not correlate with lung function parameters, nor with the ACQ score (p ≥0.05 for all analyses). Five subjects (33 % of the study group) reported one or more exacerbations during the following year. Baseline serum levels of periostin were significantly higher in subjects who experienced one or more exacerbations during the one year period of follow-up, compared with subjects with no exacerbations: median serum periostin level was 4047 ng/ml (range: 2231 to 4889 ng/ml) and 222 ng/ml (range 28.2 to 1631 ng/ml) respectively;p= 0.001.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings of the present pilot study could form the basis for the design of larger studies aiming at developing strategies to identify asthmatic patients at risk for exacerbations.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento Biomedico di Medicina Interna e Specialistica (Di.Bi.M.I.S.), University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.|Euro-Mediterranean Institute of Science and Technology, Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: N
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6400-6573
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Scichilone
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Molecular Biomedicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Crimi
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento Biomedico di Medicina Interna e Specialistica (Di.Bi.M.I.S.), University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Benfante
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento Biomedico di Medicina Interna e Specialistica (Di.Bi.M.I.S.), University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Battaglia
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Molecular Biomedicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Iemmolo
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento Biomedico di Medicina Interna e Specialistica (Di.Bi.M.I.S.), University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Spatafora
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Molecular Biomedicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Crimi
keywords: Airway inflammation; Asthma; Exacerbation; Periostin; Serum biomarker