Airway remodelling in cough-variant asthma

Subepithelial-layer thickening, a pathological feature of airway remodellin g, is present in cough-variant asthma. In bronchial biopsy samples we found mean subepithelial-layer thickness was 7.1 (SE 0.4) mu m in patients with cough-variant asthma, 8.6 (0.4) mu m in patients with classic asthma with w heezing, and 5.0 (0.2) mu m in healthy controls. Thickness was significantl y higher in patients with asthma than in controls, and was significantly gr eater in those with classic asthma than in those with cough-variant asthma. Early anti-inflammatory treatment might, therefore, be beneficial in cough -variant asthma, as recommended in classic asthma.