Relationship between plasma antioxidants and thyroid hormones in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

A low-T(3) syndrome is observed in chronic diseases, but its treatment is still debated. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has not been conclusively studied under this aspect. COPD is a complex condition, which cannot be considered a lung-related disorder, but rather a systemic disease also associated to increased oxidative stress. We evaluated thyroid hormones and antioxidant systems, the lipophilic Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ(10)) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in COPD patients to reveal the presence of a low-T(3) syndrome in COPD and investigate the correlation between thyroid hormones, lung function parameters and antioxidants.