Clinical science
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Skeletal muscle dysfunction in COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) patients, particularly of the quadriceps, is of clinical interest because it not only influences the symptoms that limit exercise, but may also contribute directly to poor exercise performance and health status, increased healthcare utilization, and mortality. Furthermore, unlike the largely irreversible impairment of the COPD lung, skeletal muscles represent a potential site to improve patients' level of function and quality of life. ⋯ The present review describes the effects of chronic exercise training on skeletal muscles and, in particular, focuses on the known effects of pulmonary rehabilitation on the quadriceps muscle in COPD. We also describe the current methods to augment the effects of pulmonary rehabilitation and speculate how greater knowledge of the molecular pathways of skeletal muscle wasting may aid the development of novel pharmaceutical agents.