Chronic inactivity may not be the sole factor involved in the myopathy of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. One hypothesis is that exercise-induced oxidative stress that leads to muscle alterations may also be involved. This study investigated whether exercise localised to a peripheral muscle group would induce oxidative stress in COPD patients. Eleven COPD patients (FEV1 1.15+/-0.4 L (mean+/-SD)) and 12 healthy age-matched subjects with a similar low quantity of physical activity performed endurance exercise localised to a peripheral muscle group, the quadriceps of the dominant leg. The authors measured plasma levels of thiobarbituric reactive substances (TBARs) as an index of oxidative stress, the release in superoxide anion (O2*-) by stimulated phagocytes as an oxidant, and blood vitamin E as one antioxidant. Quadriceps endurance was significantly lower in the COPD patients compared with healthy subjects (136+/-16 s versus 385+/-69 s (mean+/-SEM), respectively). A significant increase in TBARs 6 h after quadriceps exercise was only found in the COPD patients. In addition, significantly higher O2*- release and lower blood vitamin E levels were found in COPD patients than in controls at rest. This blood vitamin E level was significantly correlated with the resting level of plasma TBARs in the COPD patients. This study mainly showed that quadriceps exercise induced systemic oxidative stress in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients and that vitamin E levels were decreased in these patients at rest. The exact relevance of these findings to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease myopathy needs to be elucidated.