Serum resistin in persistent allergic rhinitis: Preliminary data in adults

Background: Adipokines may exert pro-inflammatory activities in allergic rhinitis. Resistin is a new adipokine. Only one study reported that resistin may be involved in allergic rhinitis. However, that study was conducted in children. Therefore, the present study aimed at confirming these findings also in adult patients with persistent allergic rhinitis (PER). Methods: The study included 85 PER patients subjects 25 (11 males, mean age 35.4 years) with mild symptoms and 60 (27 males, mean age 36.8 years) with moderate-severe ones. All subjects were consecutively evaluated. A skin prick test and blood sampling for assessing serum resistin levels were performed in all subjects. Results: Patients with moderate-severe symptoms had higher resistin levels than mild ones (p = 0.02). Conclusion: This study provides the preliminary evidence that resistin serum levels depend on symptom severity also in adults with PER.