[Changes in exercise tolerance, health related quality of life, and peripheral muscle characteristics of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients after 6 weeks' training].
OBJECTIVE
This study was designed to assess changes in skeletal muscle characteristics after 6 weeks' high-intensity physical training of patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and to determine how the changes were related to improvements in exercise tolerance and health related quality of life (HRQL).


METHODS
Ten patients with a mean (SD) age of 60 (10) years and a forced expiratory volume in 1 second of 32% (9%) were enrolled. The effect of training on the 6-minute walk test, HRQL questionnaires, and skeletal muscles was examined for the 8 patients who completed the program. The structural and chemical characteristics of skeletal muscles before and after training were studied in vastus lateralis muscle biopsies.


RESULTS
Training significantly modified the 6-minute walk test (P<.01), HRQL (P<.05), and citrate synthetase activity (P<.05). Changes in distances walked during the 6-minute walk test were significantly related to changes in the mean area of fibers (r=0.81).


CONCLUSIONS
The results of this study indicate that 6 weeks of high-intensity physical training of COPD patients produces moderate changes in skeletal muscles which could partly explain improvements observed in exercise tolerance after respiratory rehabilitation.
Montes de Oca
M
M
Servicio de Neumonología, Hospital Universitario de Caracas, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Venezuela. mmdeoca@cantv.net
Torres
S H
SH
González
Y
Y
Romero
E
E
Hernández
N
N
Tálamo
C
C
D000368:Aged; D001706:Biopsy; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D017079:Exercise Tolerance; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D011788:Quality of Life