A decreased mean platelet volume is associated with stable and exacerbated asthma.

BACKGROUND Systemic inflammation is related to disease progression in asthma. Activated platelets play a critical role in atherogenesis, inflammation, and atherothrombosis. The mean platelet volume (MPV) is an early marker of platelet activation. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study is to clarify the relevance of MPV levels in patients with stable and exacerbated asthma. METHODS We investigated the peripheral blood cell count parameters, C-reactive protein (CRP), lung function parameters, and arterial blood gas in patients with asthma and control subjects. Eighty-five stable asthma patients and 85 asthmatics with exacerbations were investigated. Eighty-five controls matched for age, gender, body mass index (BMI), and smoking status were recruited. RESULTS Patients with exacerbated asthma had lower MPV and higher CRP levels and white blood cell (WBC) counts compared to patients with stable asthma and control subjects. Furthermore, the MPV was reduced in patients with stable asthma compared to control subjects. Negative correlations between MPV and CRP were present in stable and exacerbated asthma. Although there was no relationship between MPV and WBC count in stable asthma, there was an inverse relationship between MPV and WBC count in exacerbated asthma. CONCLUSIONS These findings show that patients with stable asthma had a lower MPV compared to controls and the MPV levels in asthmatic patients with exacerbations were lower compared to those in patients with stable asthma. Further investigations regarding the role of MPV in asthma may be beneficial in the search for therapeutic targets.