A new research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH, US) at Albany Medical College will focus on the carbon dioxide and metabolism impact in people with COPD, a group of chronic inflammatory lung diseases in which the airways become blocked resulting in coughing with mucus and shortness of breath. The new study gains significance as an impaired lung function in COPD can alter carbon dioxide levels in the body and affect metabolism. This in turn contributes to complications like muscle weakness, which can further reduce lung muscle function, limit walking, and increase exacerbations, or episodes of sudden disease worsening. Muscle weakness also leads to associated hospitalizations, and to worse clinical outcomes and quality of life.