Skeletal muscle dysfunction and oxidative stress in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Recently extrapulmonary or systemic effects of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) such as malnutrition, weight loss and skeletal muscle dysfunction attract more and more attention,which correlate with mortality of COPD. Oxidative stress is not only one of the important pathogenesis of COPD, but also mechanism of skeletal muscle dysfunction in patients with COPD.Exercise-induced local or systemic oxidative stress complicates the disease itself, and antioxidants as a novel target in treatment of COPD bring us new research program. Key words: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Skeletal muscle; Oxidative stress