Flunisolide Decreases Exhaled Nitric Oxide and Nitrotyrosine Levels in Asthmatic Children

Background. Exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) has beenreported to be elevated in the oxidative stress involved inasthmatic patients, and the reaction of nitric oxide (NO)with superoxide anions results in the formation of nitrotyrosine.The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of inhaledsteroid treatment on nitrotyrosine levels collected by exhaledbreath condensate (EBC) and on FeNO. Methods. Thiswas a single-blind placebo-controlled study. The lung function,FeNO, and nitrotyrosine levels were evaluated in 10asthmatic children. Results. The nitrotyrosine levelswere stable during the placebo period (T0 = 1.16 ng/mlversus T1 = 1.05 ng/ml; NS.), whereas they decreasedafter the treatment with flunisolide (T2 = 1.14 ng/mlversus T3 = 0.88 ng/ml; P<.001). No significant reduction in FeNO levels was observed after placebotreatment (T0 = 38.4 ppb versus T1 = 34.7 ppb, NS.). In contrast, FeNO valuesdecreased significantly being at T3 = 14.9 ppb (T1versus T3; P=.024). Conclusions. This study showsthat corticosteroid treatment reduces nitrotyrosine levels in EBCof asthmatic subjects