Clinical trial NCT02875522: The Effects of Aerobic Exercise Training on Vascular, Cardiac and Cerebral Vascular Function in COPD
Official title: The Effects of Aerobic Exercise Training on Peripheral Vascular, Cardiac and Cerebral Vascular Function in Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Keywords: COPD
Exercise Training
Flow-Mediated Dilation
Arterial Stiffness
Echocardiography
Cerebrovascular Physiology
Lead sponsor: University of British Columbia
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2016-08-23
Enrollment: 58
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 40
Maximum age (years): 80
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: The primary cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is smoking, which can lead to inflammation in the lungs and blood vessels that can lead to secondary problems such as blood vessel disease, high blood pressure and heart disease. Aerobic exercise training has been shown to reduce the risk of heart and brain disease; however, it is currently unknown whether exercise training can have the same affect in patients with COPD. The aim of this study is to investigate how eight weeks of aerobic exercise training improves blood vessel and heart function and brain blood flow in patients with COPD.

Detailed description: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a treatable respiratory condition that is only partially reversible. The primary cause of COPD is smoking which leads to airway inflammation and oxidative damage to the lungs, which has been linked to the development and progression of the disease. The inflammation is not isolated to the lungs as patients with COPD also have systemic inflammation that has been linked to a number of cardiovascular comorbidities such as endothelial dysfunction, cardiovascular disease and stroke. Evidence demonstrates that COPD patients have a greater incidence of vascular dysfunction and adverse vascular remodeling, which worsens with disease severity. In fact, patients with COPD are at 35 times greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease and stroke than healthy aged matched individuals. In healthy individuals and a number of chronic conditions, aerobic exercise training is well established to reduce the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. The benefits of exercise are likely through improvements in endothelial function, systemic inflammation, and cardiac and cerebral vascular function. However, whether exercise training can have the same effects in a chronic inflammatory condition like COPD has not been studied. The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of an 8 week aerobic exercise training program in patient's chronic obstructive pulmonary disease as determined by improvements in endothelial function, systemic inflammation and cardiac and cerebral vascular function.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Non-smokers (\>6 months);
* Forced expiratory volume in one second/ forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC) \< 0.7 and FEV1/FVC \<lower limit of normal
* Stable (\>3 months exacerbation free)

Exclusion Criteria:

* On supplemental oxygen;
* Known cardiac or cerebral vascular disease, diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea;
* Uncontrolled hypertension;
* BMI \>30kg/m2
* Currently performing pulmonary rehabilitation or structured exercise training;
* Desaturate during exercise (SpO2\<85%)
* Cardiovascular contraindications to exercise in the incremental test used for screening

Primary outcomes:
measure: Endothelial Function
timeFrame: 8-weeks (following 24 sessions of exercise training)
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Arterial Stiffness
timeFrame: 8-weeks (following 24 sessions of exercise training)
measure: Carotid intima-medial thickness
timeFrame: 8-weeks (following 24 sessions of exercise training)
measure: Carotid Compliance
timeFrame: 8-weeks (following 24 sessions of exercise training)
measure: Inflammatory Biomarkers
timeFrame: 8-weeks (following 24 sessions of exercise training)
measure: Systolic function
timeFrame: 8-weeks (following 24 sessions of exercise training)
measure: Diastolic function
timeFrame: 8-weeks (following 24 sessions of exercise training)
measure: Cerebral Blood Flow
timeFrame: 8-weeks (following 24 sessions of exercise training)
measure: Cerebrovascular Reactivity
timeFrame: 8-weeks (following 24 sessions of exercise training)
measure: Cerebrovascular Autoregulation
timeFrame: 8-weeks (following 24 sessions of exercise training)
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Kelowna
country: Canada
facility: University of British Columbia
state: British Columbia
Study officials:
affiliation: University of British Columbia
name: Neil Eves, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Gelinas JC, Lewis NC, Harper MI, Ainslie PN, Rolf JD, Eves ND. Aerobic Exercise Training on Peripheral Vascular Structure and Function in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 191:A5305, 2015.