Triggers and mechanisms of skeletal muscle wasting in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Skeletal muscle wasting contributes to impaired exercise capacity, health-related quality of life and is an independent determinant of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. An imbalance between protein myogenesis on one hand, and muscle proteolysis and apoptosis on the been proposed to underlie muscle wasting in this disease. In this current understanding of the state and regulation of these processes muscle mass in this condition is presented. In addition, a conceptual action of disease-related determinants of muscle wasting including hypoxemia, malnutrition, inflammation and glucocorticoids is provided by overlaying the available associative clinical data with causal evidence, derived from experimental models. Significant progression has been made understanding and managing muscle wasting in chronic obstructive disease. Further examination of the time course of muscle wasting and disease phenotypes, as well as the application of systems biology and approaches in future research will allow the development of tailored to prevent or reverse muscle wasting in chronic obstructive pulmonar