[Comparison of airway remodeling in asthma and COPD].

Asthma and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) are two pulmonary obstructive diseases. It is well recognized that inflammation plays a key role in the pathogenesis of these two diseases. However, inflammation per se does not entirely account for the progressive loss in pulmonary function. It is admitted that the functional changes partly relate to airway structural alteration called remodeling. In this review we summarize the most frequent tissue abnormalities found in patients with asthma and COPD and report on the relationship between structural alterations and clinical features of the disease.