Oral beta-Alanine Supplementation (with and without exercise training) in Patients with COPD: Structural, Metabolic and Functional Adaptations. (R-6307)

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is the third leading cause of mortality worldwide. Daily symptoms, such as exercise-induced breathlessness and fatigue are the starting point of a vicious circle of physical inactivity resulting in a loss of lower-limb muscle function. Moreover, oxidative stress contributes also to lower-limb muscle dysfunction in COPD. Muscle carnosine acts as an anti-oxidant. Muscle carnosine levels in patients with COPD are significantly lower (-50%) compared to healthy peers. This muscle carnosine deficiency is most probably due to the muscle oxidative stress in the lower-limb muscles of patients with COPD. Oral beta-alanine supplementation has proven to increase muscle carnosine levels, and, in turn exercise capacity in untrained adults and elderly. This has not been studied in patients with COPD. Nevertheless, it seems reasonable to hypothesize that increased muscle carnosine levels following beta-alanine supplementation will have a positive effect on lower-limb muscle function and exercise capacity in patients with COPD by reducing oxidative stress. Moreover, exercise training also partially reduces exercise-induced oxidative stress in lower-limb muscles in patients with COPD. Therefore, this project will investigate the impact of beta-alanine supplementation (versus placebo, with and without exercise training) on lower-limb muscle function, exercise capacity and lower-limb muscle structure and metabolism in patients with COPD.

Keywords:Rehabilitation of internal diseases

Disciplines:Morphological sciences