Predictive role of periostin for asthma
Several attempts were made to investigate the role of periostin to
predict the development of asthma in the future. Anderson at al.(12)
have prospectively followed up the children from COAST (Childhood
Origins of ASThma Study) cohort and longitudinally investigated the role
of several biomarkers of type 2 inflammation such as aeroallergen
sensitization, blood eosinophils and serum periostin levels in the
development of asthma during the childhood period. They have found that,
along with other variables, high serum periostin levels at the age of 2
years is a risk factor for asthma by school-age. However, they have also
addressed a concern regarding the possible confounder effect of the
linear growth on serum periostin levels during the early-childhood
phase. Castro-Rodriguez et al.(13) have performed a case-control study
in preschoolers with recurrent wheezing episodes and compared periostin
levels according to their asthma predictive index result. No significant
difference was found in periostin levels between children with positive
and negative asthma predictive index. Recently, Guvenir et al.(14)
investigated the role of periostin in young children with wheezing
episodes for the prediction of asthma development. However, their
results did not reveal periostin as a predictive factor for future
asthma in young children, either.