ASTHMA

A sthma is a chronic infl ammatory disease of the airways. It is commonly assumed that chronic infl am-mation will lead to an exaggerated repair process with bronchial deposition of scar tissue. This remodeling of the airways, mainly characterized by subepithelial fi brosis, smooth muscle enlargement, and gland hyper-plasia, is thought to play a role in the treatment resis-tance associated with chronic airfl ow obstruc tion that is often found in patients with severe asthma. 1,2 None-theless, confl icting hypotheses have been proposed since features of airway remodeling have also been Background: The clinical manifestations of bronchial remodeling in asthma and the potential impact of this process on lung function remain unclear. We aimed to determine whether the pres-ence of pathologic features of airway remodeling in patients with asthma was associated with steroid responsiveness in the short term. Methods: Sixty-three consecutive patients with severe asthma with chronic airfl ow impairmen