Muscle Atrophy In Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Limb muscle dysfunction, characterized by atrophy and weakness, is amongst the most troublesome systemic consequences of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) leading to poor functional status and premature mortality. One prevailing hypothesis stipulates that the deterioration in muscle structure and function during COPD results from a spillover of inflammatory mediators from the lungs to the systemic circulation and then to the muscles.