Discrepant clinical responses and blood chemokine profiles between two non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications for children with mild persistent asthma.

In a randomized study, two oral medications, ketotifen and montelukast, were compared for children with mild persistent asthma. Montelukast revealed faster clinical responses than ketotifen, showing improved exhaled nitric oxide, peak expiratory flow, and asthma scores in 1 wk. After 8-wk of medication, both ketotifen and montelukast revealed improved clinical responses. However, 8 wk of ketotifen, but not montelukast, decreased plasma serum thymus and activation-regulated chemokine (317.854 +/- 207.906 vs. 181.348 +/- 167.109, p < 0.05), macrophage-derived chemokine (355.11 +/- 174.30 vs. 169.19 +/- 62.42, p < 0.05) levels. In conclusion, different oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs revealed faster or slower treatment responses due to different mechanisms.