Exercise to Help with Parkinson’s Disease

Exercise to Help with Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease is known to be a slowly progressing neurological disorder that can cause issues with the motor movement of the body. Signs of Parkinson’s disease can include severe stiffness, loss of balance, and lethargy. Although there are no cures for the condition, symptoms can be slowed down. However, most of the prescribed drugs for Parkinson’s disease can decrease in effectiveness over the course of time. This led to some investigation from researchers to consider the role of exercise as a treatment option. Initial studies revealed that exercise does reduce the symptoms and slowed the progression of the condition.

According to a recent phase 2 study, intense treadmill exercise can potentially reduce the progression symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. In this study, researchers treated exercise as a treatment and tracked the safety and effectiveness of different levels of exercise. The study consisted of 128 people that had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and were not taking any medications nor exercised. The aerobic capacity, heartbeats and the severity of the disease were tested for a baseline.

The patients were divided into three groups. Group 1 was asked to continue living their life in a normal manner. Group 2 was asked to implement exercise in which they would walk on the treadmill daily for 30 minutes, four times a week. The speed of the treadmill was manipulated to maintain the heart rate of the participants between 60 to 65 percent of their maximum heart rate. Group 3 was asked to also implement exercise for the same amount of time but their heart rate was maintained in the range of 80 to 85 percent of their maximum rates. The patients were under supervision for the initial month and then asked to continue exercising on their own.

At the end of the six-month study, Group 1 showed their symptoms progressed further. Group 2 showed their symptoms progressed but not as much as Group 1. Group 3 showed almost no progression in their symptoms after following a heavier exercise regimen as the other groups. This study concluded that higher intensity exercise helped in decreasing the symptoms by improving the neuronal blood supply. Improved blood flow helps with the overall health of the brain and slows down the deterioration of the body.

The findings from the study are quite encouraging for patients who are recently diagnosed or early in their symptoms to have great benefits from the heavy exercise program. However, it is advised to consult with your physician prior to starting an exercise plan to avoid injuries and ensure your safety.

Neural Stem Cells Treating Parkinson’s Disease

Neural Stem Cells Treating Parkinson’s Disease

Researchers have now shown that stem cells that are genetically modified may be able to help in Parkinson’s disease by replacing the cells that are damaged in the disease. Their research was recently published in the journal CNS and Neurological Disorders – Drug Targets. Parkinson’s disease affects the stratum, a specific part of the brain and disrupts dopamine signaling. Based on what is known about the pathology of the disease, research into treatments has focused on how to restore proper dopamine functioning. Most of these approaches have been pharmaceutical in nature, and though some of the treatments that have been developed have been helpful in the short-term, they unfortunately have not been effective in the long-term.

Stem cells have shown promise for treating a number of clinical conditions, in large part because they provide a means for replacing cells that may be damaged due to injury or disease. Based on a number of theoretical arguments that neural stem cells, and particularly genetically modified stem cells, could potentially help with Parkinson’s disease, researchers set out to determine the practicality of trying to implant these cells into the brain. What is particularly challenging about the endeavor is not physically putting the stem cells into the brain but getting the cells to survive, differentiate into brain cells, and integrate themselves into the brain in a way that allows them to function properly, replacing the function of those cells that have been lost due to disease.

The researchers found that the stem cells they used were able to integrate specifically into the stratum, the part of the brain that is preferentially affected by Parkinson’s disease. Further, the neural cells specifically differentiated into the types of cells that are lost in Parkinson’s disease. These findings show the promise for using specific types of stem cells to help with Parkinson’s disease. Unlike other approaches to the disease, which have had only short-term success, stem cell techniques provide the novel approach of completely replacing the cells that are lost and may therefore help restore the functions that are lost as a result of cell loss. Further research will need to explore this question of if genetically modified stem cells actually reverse the symptoms associated with Parkinson’s disease. If these cells are able to provide a way to restore function in the disease, they could contribute to important interventions for neurodegeneration.

See how stem cell treatment for Parkinson’s disease have shown beneficial in the management of symptoms.

 

Reference

Ziavra, D. et al. (2012). Neural stem cells transplanted in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease differentiate to neuronal phenotypes and reduce rotational deficit. CNS & Neurological Disorders – Drug Targets, 11(7), 829-835.

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