Asthma is a disease characterised by hyper responsiveness and bronchoconstriction of airways, and is a major health burden globally. A dysfunction of the oxidant-antioxidant balance, termed oxidative stress, has been implicated in the pathophysiology of asthma. The present study aims to assess the changes in oxidative stress markers, namely nitric oxide metabolites and antioxidant capacity, in children with poorly controlled and well controlled asthma, in comparison to healthy controls. The present study enrolled 72 children (ages 5-15 years) classified into three groups: (1) poorly controlled asthma (n = 20), (2) well controlled asthma (n = 24) and (3) healthy controls (n = 27). An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to record socio-demographic data of the participants. The serum concentrations of the oxidant markers (nitrite, nitrate and total nitric oxide metabolites [NOx]) were determined using the Griess test, and the total antioxidant capacity (TAOC) was determined using the ABTS decolorisation method. The concentrations of these markers were compared across the three groups. The three study groups were similar in terms of socio-demographic data. The differences across the three groups were statistically significant for serum concentrations of nitrate and NOx (but not nitrite) and serum TAOC. Further analyses showed that the disparity for nitrate and NOx concentrations was greatest between poorly controlled asthma and healthy controls (p = 0.001 and p < 0.001) compared to the well-controlled asthmatics and healthy controls (p = 0.036 and p = 0.049). A significant difference in serum nitrate and NOx concentrations was not observed between the two asthma groups (p = 0.311 and 0.203). The TAOC were significantly lower in poorly controlled asthmatics as compared to well-controlled asthmatics (p = 0.003) and healthy controls (p < 0.001). However, there was no significant difference in the serum TAOC between healthy controls and well-controlled asthmatics (p = 0.496). These findings may indicate that it is perhaps the higher TAOC that contributes to the well controlled state of asthma. The present study indicated that an imbalance of oxidants and antioxidants in the serum may have an underlying role in asthma pathophysiology, and how these markers may be effective in asthma management.

中文翻译：

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斯里兰卡儿童哮喘控制良好和控制不佳的氧化应激血清标志物的差异：一项初步研究。

哮喘是一种以高反应性和气道支气管收缩为特征的疾病，是全球主要的健康负担。称为氧化应激的氧化剂-抗氧化剂平衡功能障碍与哮喘的病理生理学有关。本研究旨在评估哮喘控制不佳和控制良好的儿童与健康对照组相比氧化应激标志物（即一氧化氮代谢物和抗氧化能力）的变化。本研究招募了 72 名儿童（5-15 岁），分为三组：（1）哮喘控制不佳（n = 20），（2）哮喘控制良好（n = 24）和（3）健康对照组（n = 27)。采访者管理的问卷用于记录参与者的社会人口统计数据。氧化标志物（亚硝酸盐、使用 Griess 试验测定硝酸盐和总一氧化氮代谢物 [NOx]，使用 ABTS 脱色法测定总抗氧化能力 (TAOC)。在三组之间比较这些标志物的浓度。三个研究组的社会人口数据相似。三组之间的血清硝酸盐和 NOx（但不是亚硝酸盐）浓度和血清 TAOC 的差异具有统计学意义。进一步分析表明，与控制良好的哮喘患者和健康对照组（p = 0.036 和 p = 0.049）相比，控制不佳的哮喘患者和健康对照组（p = 0.001 和 p < 0.001）之间的硝酸盐和 NOx 浓度差异最大。在两个哮喘组之间没有观察到血清硝酸盐和 NOx 浓度的显着差异（p = 0.311 和 0.203）。与控制良好的哮喘患者 (p = 0.003) 和健康对照组 (p < 0.001) 相比，控制不佳的哮喘患者的 TAOC 显着降低。然而，健康对照组和控制良好的哮喘患者的血清 TAOC 没有显着差异（p = 0.496）。这些发现可能表明，可能是较高的 TAOC 有助于哮喘的良好控制状态。本研究表明，血清中氧化剂和抗氧化剂的失衡可能在哮喘病理生理学中发挥潜在作用，以及这些标志物如何在哮喘管理中发挥作用。与控制良好的哮喘患者 (p = 0.003) 和健康对照组 (p < 0.001) 相比，控制不佳的哮喘患者的 TAOC 显着降低。然而，健康对照组和控制良好的哮喘患者的血清 TAOC 没有显着差异（p = 0.496）。这些发现可能表明，可能是较高的 TAOC 有助于哮喘的良好控制状态。本研究表明，血清中氧化剂和抗氧化剂的失衡可能在哮喘病理生理学中发挥潜在作用，以及这些标志物如何在哮喘管理中发挥作用。与控制良好的哮喘患者 (p = 0.003) 和健康对照组 (p < 0.001) 相比，控制不佳的哮喘患者的 TAOC 显着降低。然而，健康对照组和控制良好的哮喘患者的血清 TAOC 没有显着差异（p = 0.496）。这些发现可能表明，可能是较高的 TAOC 有助于哮喘的良好控制状态。本研究表明，血清中氧化剂和抗氧化剂的失衡可能在哮喘病理生理学中发挥潜在作用，以及这些标志物如何在哮喘管理中发挥作用。这些发现可能表明，可能是较高的 TAOC 有助于哮喘的良好控制状态。本研究表明，血清中氧化剂和抗氧化剂的失衡可能在哮喘病理生理学中发挥潜在作用，以及这些标志物如何在哮喘管理中发挥作用。这些发现可能表明，可能是较高的 TAOC 有助于哮喘的良好控制状态。本研究表明，血清中氧化剂和抗氧化剂的失衡可能在哮喘病理生理学中发挥潜在作用，以及这些标志物如何在哮喘管理中发挥作用。