Eicosapentaenoic Acid and Protein Modulation to Induce Anabolism in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): Aim 2

Specific aim 1: To test the hypothesis that supplementation of 3.5g EPA+DHA will increase the acute net fractional muscle protein synthesis more in COPD patients as compared to healthy controls in response to a high quality protein supplement. Specific aim 2: To test the hypothesis that 3.5g/day EPA+DHA for 4 consecutive weeks induces a higher increase in net fractional muscle protein synthesis in response to a high quality protein supplement as compared to 2g/day EPA+DHA in COPD patients. Therefore, to answer the specific aims in this study only the COPD subjects will undergo a 4-week intervention period.