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Updated: Feb 7, 2026

Home-Based Prescribed Pulmonary Exercise in Patients with Stable Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Published on: August 24, 2019
Pulmonary rehabilitation and BDNF levels in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A pilot study
Cintia Laura Pereira de Araujo1, Ivy Reichert Vital da Silva2, Gustavo Pereira Reinaldo1
1Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre (UFCSPA), Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Background:
COPD physiopathology involves multiple pathways and evidence indicates that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is an important biomarker associated with parameters of COPD severity. This study aimed to analyze the time course of the effects of a pulmonary rehabilitation program (PRP) on BDNF levels and on functional status in COPD patients.
Methods:
Patients were enrolled in a 24-session PRP. Exercise capacity, dyspnea, health-related quality of life, and the BODE index were assessed at baseline and after the PRP. BDNF plasma levels were measured at baseline (immediately before the 1st session), after the 1st session, and before and after the 24th session.
Results:
Sixteen patients were included. A reduction in BDNF levels was observed after the 1st session and an increase was observed between the end of the 1st session and the beginning of the 24th session. The PRP promoted an improvement in exercise capacity and health-related quality of life and a reduction in dyspnea and the BODE index.
Conclusion:
Exercise acutely reduced BDNF levels, an effect that was nullified by the overall intervention.
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