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Acting to address the amount of physical activity of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is recommended as part of the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) recommendations [1]. A level lower than approximately 5000 steps for day (sedentary lifestyle index) is associated with significantly increased health risks [2, 3]. Actively screening to identify patients below this threshold could be an important step towards targeting interventions to increase physical activity. Potential screening tools include activity monitors (objective assessment) or self-reported questionnaires (subjective assessment) to measure the amount of physical activity [4]. The latter method, which is feasible in clinical practice, may not result in an accurate representation in an individual patient, as questionnaire responses tend to misclassify physical activity [5]. Although more accurate and widely used in research, activity monitoring is not yet commonly included in patients' routine assessment. Several health status questionnaires in routine clinical use contain a domain or dimension related to physical activity [6]. In the analytical framework of Leidy [7], functional performance has been defined as the physical, psychological, social, occupational and spiritual activities that people actually do in the normal course of their lives to meet basic needs, fulfil usual roles, and maintain their health and wellbeing. A review by Kocks et al . [8] proposed that these questionnaires could be used in the measurement of functional performance (defined as “what a patient is actually doing”) and that this would be a more practical alternative to physical activity monitoring. Whether this approach is sufficiently valid as a representation of physical activity levels in clinical practice remains to be established. Health status questionnaires provide only limited insight into the physical activity of patients with COPD The PROactive Consortium members are as follows. Nathalie Ivanoff: Almirall, Barcelona, Spain; Niklas Karlsson and Solange Corriol-Rohou: AstraZeneca AB, Molndal, Sweden; Ian Jarrod: British Lung Foundation, London, UK; Damijen Erzen: Boehringer Ingelheim, Nieder-Ingelheim, Germany; Mario Scuri and Roberta Montacchini: Chiesi Farmaceutici S.A. Parma, Italy; Paul McBride: Choice Healthcare Solutions, Hitchin, UK; Nadia Kamel: European Respiratory Society, Lausanne, Switzerland; Margaret Tabberer: GlaxoSmithKline, Uxbridge, UK; Thierry Troosters, Wim Janssens and Fabienne Dobbels,: Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Judith Garcia-Aymerich, Municipal Institute of Medical Research, Barcelona, Spain; Pim de Boer: Netherlands Lung Foundation, Amersfoort, The Netherlands; Karoly Kulich and Alastair Glendenning: Novartis, Basel, Switzerland; Michael I. Polkey and Nick S. Hopkinson: Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK; Ioannis Vogiatzis: Thorax Research Foundation, Athens, Greece; Enkeleida Nikai: UCB, Brussels, Belgium; Thys van der Molen and Corina De Jong: University Medical Center, Groningen, The Netherlands; Roberto A. Rabinovich and Bill MacNee: University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; Milo A. Puhan and Anja Frei: University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.

BACKGROUND: Involved regions of the skin in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) have been shown to have higher transepidermal water loss (TEWL), indicating a compromised skin barrier. Whether uninvolved skin also has diminished barrier characteristics is controversial. OBJECTIVES: To study the penetration of sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) into uninvolved skin of patients with AD compared with the skin of control subjects. METHODS: Percutaneous penetration was assessed using the tape stripping technique on the stratum corneum (SC). Twenty patients with AD and 20 healthy subjects were exposed to 1% SLS for 4 h on the mid-volar forearm. After the end of exposure the SC was removed by adhesive tape. The amount of SLS was determined in each consecutive strip. Fick's second law of diffusion was used to deduce the diffusivity and the partition coefficient of SLS between water and the SC. RESULTS: The SC thickness was similar in both groups; however, the TEWL was higher in patients with AD compared with that of the control group (mean+/-SD 8.4+/-4.3 and 6.3+/-2.0 g m-2 h-1, respectively). There was a correlation between SC thickness and TEWL in control subjects but no correlation was found in patients with AD. The diffusivity of SLS through uninvolved AD skin was higher compared with normal skin (mean+/-SD 12.7+/-5.8x10(-9) and 6.2+/-3.0x10(-9) cm-2 h-1, respectively), while the partition coefficient between SC and water was lower (mean+/-SD 137+/-64 and 196+/-107, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The results show a different penetration profile of SLS into the SC of patients with AD compared with control subjects. This indicates that even noninvolved skin in patients with AD has altered barrier characteristics, emphasizing the importance of skin protection and prevention of skin contact with chemicals

BACKGROUND: Skin irritability after a brief exposure to the model skin irritant, sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS), is known to vary considerably between individuals. A difference in the skin barrier to SLS may contribute to this variation. To date, no human in vivo data have been available on SLS penetration into the skin. OBJECTIVES: We studied whether the SLS penetration rate into the stratum corneum (SC) is related to impairment of the water barrier function and inflammation of the skin. METHODS: The penetration of SLS into the SC was assessed using a noninvasive tape-stripping procedure in 20 volunteers after a 4-h exposure to 1% SLS. Additionally, the effect of a 24-h exposure to 1% SLS on the skin water barrier function was assessed by measuring the transepidermal water loss (TEWL). The accompanying inflammation was quantified by measuring erythema. RESULTS: The mean +/- SD diffusivity of SLS (D) and the SLS permeability coefficient (Kp) were 1.4 +/- 0.6 x 10(-8) cm2 h(-1) and 1.5 +/- 0.7 x 10(-3) cm h(-1), respectively. A multiple regression analysis showed that the baseline TEWL, SC thickness and SLS penetration parameters K (SC/water partition coefficient) and D clearly influenced the increase in TEWL after the 24-h irritation test (explained variance: r2 = 0.80). Change in erythema was mainly influenced by SC thickness. CONCLUSIONS: We found that variation in the barrier impairment and inflammation of human skin depends on the SLS penetration rate, which was mainly determined by SC thickness