Cerebrovascular function in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: the impact of exercise training

This study examined cerebral blood flow (CBF) and its regulation before and after a short-term periodized aerobic exercise training intervention in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Twenty-eight patients with COPD (forced expiratory volume in 1 s/forced vital capacity < 0.7 and -1·mmHg^-1, P = 0.02). After aerobic training, absolute peak O₂ consumption increased in both groups, with a greater improvement in control subjects (1.7 ± 0.4 vs. 4.1 ± 0.2 ml·kg^-1·min^-1, respectively, P = 0.001). Despite these improvements in peak O₂ consumption, there were no significant alterations in CBF or any measures of cerebrovascular function after exercise training in either group. In conclusion, patients with COPD have a blunted cerebrovascular response to hypocapnia, and 8 wk of aerobic exercise training did not alter cerebrovascular function despite significant improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness. NEW & NOTEWORTHY No study to date has investigated whether exercise training can alter resting cerebral blood flow (CBF) regulation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This study is the first to assess CBF regulation at rest, before, and after aerobic exercise training in patients with COPD and healthy control subjects. This study demonstrated that while exercise training improved aerobic fitness, it had little effect on CBF regulation in patients with COPD or control subjects.