Potential new cough therapies.

Cough is among the most common complaints for which patients seek medical attention. Consequently, enormous expenditures are made worldwide on prescription and non-prescription cough remedies. Multiple prospective studies have shown that specific antitussive therapy aimed at the underlying aetiology of cough is highly successful. The greatest current need therefore is for more effective nonspecific antitussive therapy, whose purpose is to suppress the cough reflex and provide symptomatic relief regardless of the underlying mechanism. Such therapy is particularly required for prolonged cough following upper respiratory tract infection, cough whose underlying aetiology is not easily treated, and idiopathic cough. Many areas of inquiry are currently ongoing that may lead to the development of novel and effective antitussive drugs.