Effect of pulmonary rehabilitation on oxidative stress in patients with pulmonary diseases

Exercise-training-based pulmonary rehabilitation has been confirmed to be effective in improving the activities of daily living (ADL) and relieving the dyspnea of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. Exercise training increases the antioxidant capacity of COPD patients, but since strenuous exercise and acute exercise loading have the opposite effect and increase oxidative stress, it is important to establish exercise training conditions that efficiently raise antioxidant capacity without increasing oxidative stress. Research on oxidative stress during exercise training by COPD patients has been pursued from that standpoint, but in recent years the targets of research on respirator diseases other than COPD have been expanding. In this article we will therefore review the results of research that has been conducted thus far on the effect of pulmonary rehabilitation on oxidative stress, including the results obtained at our own institution.