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Feb 10

Parkinson’s Foundation: Better Lives. Together.

Exercise is an important part of healthy living for everyone, however, for people with Parkinsons disease (PD) exercise is not only healthy, but a vital component to maintaining balance, mobility and daily living activities, along with a potential neuroprotective Something that protects neurons against damage, degeneration or apoptosis (programmed cell death).effect. The Parkinsons Foundation Quality Improvement Imitative studied exercise as part a Parkinson's Outcomes Project study.

Every Center of Excellence agrees that they believe exercise is important to good outcomes in PD, and data supports that.Exercising enhances the sense of wellbeing, even across different disease stages and severities.There is a growing consensus among researchers about the short and long-term benefits of exercise for people with PD.

Symptom Management

Research has shown that exercise can improve gait, balance,tremor Involuntary shaking of the hands, arms, legs, jaw or tongue. The typical Parkinsons tremor is pill-rolling it looks like holding a pill between thumb and forefinger and continuously rolling it around. Some people report an internal tremor, a shaking sensation inside the chest, abdomen or limbs that cannot be seen. Most Parkinsons tremor is resting tremor, which lessens during sleep and when the body part is actively in use., flexibility, grip strength and motor coordination.Exercise such as treadmill training and biking have all been shown to benefit, along with Tai Chi An ancient Chinese martial art and exercise characterized by gentle, flowing movement couple with breathing. Has been shown to improve symptoms of PD. andyoga. So far, studies have shown:

One study showed that people with PD who exercised regularly for 2.5 hours a week had a smaller decline in mobility and quality of life over two years. Research is ongoing to discover therapies that will change the course of the disease.

There is a strong consensus among physicians and physical therapists that improved mobility by exercising may improve thinking, memory and reduce risk of falls. By avoiding complications from falls you can prevent further injury. At this time, we know that people who exercise vigorously, for example running or cycling, have fewer changes in their brains caused by aging. Studies in animals suggest exercise also improves PD symptoms.

Neurologists within the Parkinsons Foundation Center of Excellence network recommend a regimented exercise program to their patients and also to people who are worried about getting PD due to family connection.

What happens in the brain to produce these visible benefits? Researchers at the University of Southern California looked at the brains of mice that had exercised under conditions parallel to a human treadmill and discovered that:

Scientists at University of Pittsburgh found that in animal models, exercise induces and increases the beneficial neurotrophic factors, particularly GDNF (glial-derived neurotrophic factor), which reduces the vulnerability of dopamine neurons Brain cells. to damage.

At the molecular level, at least two things happen to make dopamine use more efficient:

They also studied the D2 receptor in a subset of the human subjects who were within one year of diagnosis and not on any medications, using an imaging technique called positron emission tomography (PET). They found that exercise increased the expression of D2 receptors in humans.

Many programs target the rapid gains that can be achieved through a focus on improvements in functional capacity and mobility. These programs vary according to different aspects of physical training. Examples of exercise programs for people with PD include:

Working Out with a Partner

Right now!Everyone should exercise more, whether they have PD or not.

In PD, a special kind ofneuron (brain cell) that produces the chemical transmitter dopamine gets damaged and lost.However, there is a lag between the time when neuron loss begins and when PD movement symptoms start to show. By the time most people are diagnosed, as much as 40 to 60 percent of their dopamine neurons are already gone. The reason people with PD dont experience symptoms until they reach this point is that the brain can compensate for the loss of dopamine neurons by adapting. In fact, the brain reshapes itself throughout life in response to experience. Scientists call this ability to change and compensate "experience-dependentneuroplasticity The brains ability to reorganize itself by forming new connections. This allows the brain to compensate for injury and disease and to respond to new situations and changes in the environment.."

Exercise Tips

To find exercise classes in your area call the Parkinsons Foundation Helpline at 1-800-4PD-INFO (473-4636).

Page reviewed by Dr. Bhavana Patel, Movement Disorders Fellow at the University of Florida, a Parkinsons Foundation Center of Excellence.

Read more here:
Parkinson's Foundation: Better Lives. Together.

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