Table 1.

Patient characteristics.

	Asthmatic patients (n = 10)	Control subjects (n = 7)
Sex (Female/Male)	6/4	4/3
Age (years), mean ± SD	42.8 ± 15.2	56.8 ± 9.5
FEV1% predicted, mean ± SD	67.3 ± 22.5	97.17 ± 11.1
FEV1/FVC ratio before bronchodilator, mean ± SD	0.65 ± 0.6	0.83 ± 0.7
FEV1/FVC ratio after bronchodilator, mean ± SD	0.75 ± 0.5	0.85 ± 0.4
Asthma duration (years), mean ± SD	17.0 ± 13.8	NA
Treatment with ICS, n (%)	7 (70)	NA
ICS (µg/day)a, mean ± SD	642.9 ± 349.3	NA
Treatment with OCS, n (%)	3 (30)	NA
OCS (µg/day)b, mean ± SD	8.7 ± 7.0	NA

ICS, inhaled corticosteroids; OCS, oral corticosteroids; NA, non-applicable.

^aMaintenance dose, fluticasone propionate equivalent.

^bMaintenance dose, methylprednisolone equivalent.