The von Willebrand factor as a marker of partially controlled asthma severity in children

Abstract

Asthma is one of the most common chronic non-communicable diseases among adults and children. Recent studies have paid special attention to endothelial dysfunction in the mechanism of development and progression of asthma, on the one hand, and the occurrence of long-term consequences of endothelial damage, on the other hand. Endothelial dysfunction in the modern sense is not only a pathology of the vascular wall but also a deep, complexly organized system of disorders and compensatory and adaptive reactions that originates at the molecular genetic level. Purpose - to improve the knowledge of assessing the levels of von Willebrand factor (VWF) as a marker of endothelial dysfunction in the blood of children with partially controlled asthma. Materials and methods. 94 children participated in the study. Patients were divided into 4 groups: the Group 1 - children with mild persistent asthma (n=59), the Group 2 - moderately severe persistent asthma (n=10), the Group 3 - severe persistent asthma (n=12), and the Group 4 - control group (n=13). The study of VWF was carried out by a standard enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using the Human VWF ELISA Kit. Data were analyzed using Statsoft Statistica version 8 (Tulsa, OK) and MedCalc statistical software version 17.2. Results. It was found that children with asthma had significantly increased levels of VWF in the blood serum compared to the control group. The highest levels of serum VWF were found in patients with severe asthma. Conclusions. Elevated levels of VWF indicate the presence of endothelial dysfunction. Increased levels of VWF depending on the severity of asthma indicate more severe endothelial damage in children with severe asthma. The research was carried out in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. The research protocol was approved by the Local Ethics Committee of the institution mentioned in the work. Informed consent of parents or their guardians was obtained for conducting research. No conflict of interests was declared by the authors.