Effects of L-arginine and Liposomial Vitamin C on Severe Copd Patients Undergoing Pulmonary Rehabilitation.

Summary

The hypothesis that is being tested is that the supplementation of L-arginine plus Vitamin C to multidisciplinary pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) in patients with a previous diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and chronic respiratory failure can have a favorable influence on fatigue and on clinical indicators related to endothelial function, potentially mitigating the cardiovascular (CV) disease burden in this clinical context.

Eligibility

Inclusion criteria:

* COPD patients of both sexes complicated by respiratory failure (PaO2 inferior to 60 mmHg while breathing room air)
* aged between 40 and 90 years selected from the inpatient/outpatient population admitted to perform a PR program in 12 Italian rehabilitation hospitals.

Exclusion criteria:

* consuming any ergogenic supplement in the last 2 months;
* severe acute exacerbations in the 3 months before enrolment;
* clinical instability (pH inferior to 7.35, hemodynamic instability, tachypnea at rest);
* lung restrictive diseases;
* primitive pulmonary hypertension;
* recent lung thromboembolic events;
* orthopaedic clinical conditions interfering with exercise;
* coronary heart disease;
* cardiac failure with reduced ejection fraction;
* major cardiac arrhythmias;
* neuromuscular diseases;
* mini mental state examination (MMSE) \<24;
* any prior or current medical problem that would limit the subject participation

Conditions3

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