Objective The aim of the study was to determine whether bronchial asthma was associated with increased levels of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule 1（sICAM 1） in serum

which might be valuble data for the effective therapy of these patients Patients and methods The concentrations of sICAM 1 were determined in sera of healthy donors and asthmatic patients using a sensitive enzyme immunoassay Results The mean（±SD） levels of serum sICAM 1 of 26 asthmatic patients （205±72 0 μg/L）was significantly higher than that of the 30 healthy volunteers （154±63 9 μg/L

P<0 01） There was no much difference between the serum levels in 12 patients suffering from atopic asthma and the levels in 14 patients with nonatopic asthma The serum concentrations of sICAM 1 were higher during asthma attacks than that during remissions in the same patients （P<0 05） Conclusion These results suggest that sICAM 1 may play a certain role in the pathophysiology of bronchial asthma

and might be signals for successful treatment