TY - JOUR T1 - Towards understanding and managing chronic cough JF - Clinical Medicine JO - Clin Med SP - s92 LP - s97 DO - 10.7861/clinmedicine.16-6-s92 VL - 16 IS - Suppl 6 AU - Imran Satia AU - Huda Badri AU - Bashar Al-Sheklly AU - Jaclyn Ann Smith AU - Ashley A Woodcock Y1 - 2016/12/01 UR - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/16/Suppl_6/s92.abstract N2 - Chronic cough is a common and troublesome condition affecting approximately 12% of the general population. It is associated with poor quality of life with psychological, social and physical consequences. Patients typically complain of a dry irritating cough, driven by a strong urge to cough associated with a sensation or irritation located in the throat. Treatment of potential ‘causes’, ie asthma, gastro-oesophageal reflux disease and rhino-sinusitis, may produce a complete or partial response, but the response of some patients to opiates and alpha-2-delta ligand antagonists (gabapentin and pregabalin) supports the concept that this is primarily a neurological disorder, characterised by hyper-responsiveness of the nerves. Novel and highly effective neuronal treatments are in development and offer hope of better symptom control with fewer side effects within a few years. This review focuses on understanding the mechanism of chronic cough, current management approaches and research that may lead to novel therapies. ER -