PhD Study at Al-Nahrain University College of Medicine Reveals Promising Biomarkers for Asthma Assessment
Al-Nahrain University College of Medicine discussed a PhD dissertation submitted by researcher Haider Yassin Ali, at the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, entitled:
«Evaluation of Serum Periostin, Arginase 1, Interleukin 13 and Vitamin D3 as Parameters Panel of Asthma Diagnosis, Severity, Control and Phenotypes»
The study aimed to evaluate serum levels of Periostin, Arginase-1, Interleukin-13, and Vitamin D3 in patients with asthma compared with healthy individuals, and to investigate their associations with disease diagnosis, severity, and control, as well as their potential utility in characterizing different asthma phenotypes.
The study included 180 participants, comprising 90 patients with asthma and 90 healthy controls, with patients classified according to the 2025 Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) criteria.
The results demonstrated a significant increase in serum Periostin and Interleukin-13 levels among patients with asthma. Periostin showed a more pronounced association with disease severity and asthma control. The findings also revealed significantly higher levels of Periostin and Interleukin-13 among patients with the eosinophilic phenotype compared with those with the non-eosinophilic phenotype.
In contrast, Vitamin D3 levels were significantly lower in patients with asthma compared with healthy controls, with further reductions observed with increasing disease severity and an association with the level of asthma control. Arginase-1 demonstrated a different pattern of association with asthma, supporting the value of investigating these biomarkers as an integrated panel.
The study concluded that these biomarkers demonstrated distinct yet complementary associations with asthma and may contribute to the characterization of disease severity, asthma control, and phenotypic patterns. However, further studies are required to validate their clinical utility.
Media and Government Communication Division
College of Medicine – Al-Nahrain University
