Airway remodelling in asthma

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease characterised by some long-lasting structural changes of bronchial wall, defined as airway re-modelling. In asthma, airway remodelling can significantly affect two important pathophysiological features, i.e. airway hyperresponsiveness and bronchial obstruction reversibility. Airway remodelling might be responsible for most of the inter-individual variability of bronchial hyperresponsiveness and might also determine the irreversible component of the airway obstruction, sometimes detectable in asthmatic patients. High doses of inhaled corticosteroids, i.e. fluticasone propionate 500 mug bid, can significantly reduce both inflammatory cells and some components of airway remodelling, such as the increased airway wall vascularity and the basement membrane thickness.