الفهرس 
Bronchial asthmaOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Endogenous nitric oxide may have a key role in many physiological and pathophysidogical events in
the lung. It appears to be important in neural bronchodilator and vasodilator mechanisms, in the
regulation of airway and pulmonary blood flow anq in immune defense. When produced in low
concentration by constitutive NOS it appears to have a generally beneficial role, but when produced
in large amounts by inducible NOS it may result in increased inflammatory response and tissue
damage, suggesting that NO may be involved in the path physiology of bronchial asthma.
This study was designed to determine whether NO may be harmful by an1plifying allergic inflammation
in asthmatic. airways. We examined the concentration of its end product nitrate in serum in 25
asthmatic children and IS controls age and sex matched children and evaluate the relationship
between nitrate level and cellular. profiles, degree of airway obstruction.
Patients and controls were subjected to full history taking complete clinical exan1ination,
complete blood picture (including eosinphil percentage), complete urine analysis, stool analysis,
chest X-ray and pulmonary function through spirometric study including FVC, FEY 1, and FEV 1/FVC
Serum nitrate was measured in all studied children (patients and controls), by an end-point
enzymatic one-step assay with nitrate reductase. Statistical analysis of results showed a highly
significant diO’erencc in the serum level of nitrate .between patients and controls.
A positive correlation was found between serum nitrate of the patients and duration of the asthma,
frequency of attacks per month and family history of asthma.
However no significant relationship was statistically found between serum nitrate and age of
the patients, absolute eosinphilic count.
There is a negative correlation between nitrate level in serum and FEV 1
and FEVI/FVC.
Conclusion
from the present data we conclude that -
I. NO is up regulated in asthma and this is reflected by increase of its end product nitrate in
serum of the patients.
2. As duration of asthma may reflect its chroncity or poor control, therefore serum nitrate may
reflect an ongoing inflammatory process in the airways of chronic asthmatics.
3. As regard family history, serum nitrate was found to be higher in positive family history
patients and this may reflect that patient with family history have more severe diseases than
negative family history patients.
4. As inflammatory process is central in d termining the severity of asthma attacks and its
frequency, then serum nitrate level may reflect the severity of airway inflammation.
5. Serum nitrate level may reflect degree of airflow lin1itation in asthma as detected by the
positive correlation between serum nitrate level and FEV , FEV 1/FVC of the patients.
So nitric oxide end product i.e. nitrate can be used in diagnosis, detem1ination of the airflow
limitation and recognition of efficiency of management of bronchial asthma.