Airway smooth muscle reduction after Bronchial Thermoplasty in severe asthma correlates with FEV1

Abstract

Bronchial thermoplasty (BT) is a bronchoscopic treatment for severe asthma patients in whom the airways are treated with radio‐frequency energy with the aim to improve asthma symptoms by reducing airway smooth muscle (ASM).¹ So far, three patient cohorts reported ASM mass reduction after BT by using α‐smooth muscle actin staining (α‐SMA).^2‐4 However, the exact mechanism of action of BT and its related responder profile is unclear.

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