Intense exercise may help slow Parkinson's Disease: Study

A rigorous exercise program may slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease – giving way for non-pharmaceutical approaches to treating the condition, according to a new study.

Parkinson’s disease is a condition that is newly diagnosed in almost 90,000 people each year in the United States according to the Parkinson’s Foundation. Currently, there is no cure.

Clinical scientists around the world are attempting to not only find a cure but also are looking to help manage symptoms and understand how this management works.

Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative condition in the world after Alzheimer’s disease and is caused by multiple years of damage.

However, the early stages of this condition are difficult to understand as many of the symptoms occur years after the damage starts.

This study in rats, investigated whether rigorous physical activity could affect the brain changes present in an experimental model of Parkinson’s.

Aerobic exercise has helped people with Parkinson’s

A group of neuroscientists from the Faculty of Medicine of the Catholic University, Rome Campus with the A. Gemelli IRCCS Polyclinic Foundation published data July 14 in the journal Science Advances showing that intensive exercise reduces both the motor and cognitive symptoms associated with Parkinson’s disease.

Through this research they also better understand how this occurs.

“As a neurologist, taking care of Parkinson’s disease patients in the early stages, I noticed that some of them had better course of the disease when they were routinely active doing aerobic exercise,” said Paolo Calabresi, corresponding study author and Full Professor of Neurology in the Department of Neuroscience at Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome, Italy.

Other studies have emphasized this trend.

Source: Healthline

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