Abstract

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients manifest muscle dysfunction and impaired muscle oxidative capacity, which result in reduced exercise capacity and poor health status. This study examined the effects of 12-week eccentric (ECC) and concentric (CONC) cycling training on plasma markers of cardiometabolic health, oxidative stress, and inflammation in COPD patients. A randomized trial in which moderate COPD was allocated to ECC (n = 10; 68.2 ± 10.0 year) or CONC (n = 10; 71.1 ± 10.3 year) training groups. Participants performed 12-week ECC or CONC training, 2–3 sessions per week, 10 to 30 min per session. Before and after training, peak oxygen consumption, maximal power output (VO2peak and POmax), and time-to-exhaustion (TTE) tests were performed. Plasma antioxidant and oxidative markers, insulin resistance, lipid profile, and systemic inflammation markers were measured before and after training at rest. VO2peak, POmax and TTE remained unchanged after ECC and CONC. CONC induced an increase in antioxidants (p = 0.01), while ECC decreased antioxidant (p = 0.02) markers measured at rest. CONC induced lesser increase in oxidative stress following TTE (p = 0.04), and a decrease in insulin resistance (p = 0.0006) compared to baseline. These results suggest that CONC training induced an increase in insulin sensitivity, antioxidant capacity at rest, and lesser exercise-induced oxidative stress in patients with moderate COPD.