A new study suggests that people with early-stage Parkinson’s disease who regularly get one to two hours of moderate exercise twice a week, such as walking or gardening, may have fewer problems balancing, walking, and doing daily activities later in life. .
The research is published online in Neurology® , the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The researchers found that those who exercised regularly for five years performed better on cognitive tests and had slower disease progression in several ways.
"Our results are exciting because they suggest that it may never be too late for someone with Parkinson’s to begin an exercise program to improve the course of their disease," said study author Kazuto Tsukita, MD, of Kyoto University in Japan and member of the American Academy of Neurology. "That’s because we found that to slow the progression of the disease , it was more important for people with Parkinson’s to maintain an exercise program than to be active early in the disease."
The study looked at 237 people with early-stage Parkinson’s. They had an average age of 63 and the researchers followed them for up to six years.
Participants’ exercise levels at the beginning of the study were determined using a questionnaire that measures the time and intensity during the previous week of leisure activities, such as walking and cycling; domestic activity, such as gardening; and occupational activity, such as caring for others. Common cognitive tests were used to measure people’s verbal and memory skills and how long it took them to complete mental tasks.
The researchers found that people’s physical activity level at the beginning of the study was not associated with Parkinson’s disease progression later.
Instead, they found that it was more important to maintain physical activity over time.
People who did at least four hours a week of moderate to vigorous exercise, such as walking or dancing, had a slower decline in balance and gait five years later, compared to those who did not exercise as much.
The researchers used a common test to rate each person’s Parkinson’s symptoms on a scale of zero to four, with higher scores indicating more severe impairment. People who exercised below average moderate to vigorous exercise, or less than one to two hours, once or twice a week, increased from an average score of 1.4 to 3.7 over six years. That compares with those who achieved above-average levels of moderate to vigorous exercise, who on average increased their score from 1.4 to 3.0 during that time.
One cognitive test the researchers used was a common paper-and-pencil test used to measure mental processing speed. The test gives the participant 90 seconds to match numbers to geometric figures and has a maximum possible score of 110. People who worked fewer than 15.5 hours per week, on average, dropped from 44 to 40 on the test six years later. That compares with an average drop from a score of 44 to 43 for those who worked more than 15.5 hours during the same period.
“Although medications may provide people with Parkinson’s with some symptom relief, they have not been shown to slow the progression of the disease,” Tsukita said. “We found that regular physical activity, including housework and moderate exercise, can actually improve the long-term course of the disease. Best of all, exercise is low-cost and has few side effects.”
The study does not prove that maintaining an exercise program delays the effects of Parkinson’s disease. It only shows an association .
A limitation of the study is that activity levels were self-reported and may not be accurate.
Learn more about Parkinson’s disease at BrainandLife.org, home of the American Academy of Neurology’s free magazine for patients and caregivers focused on the intersection of neurological disease and brain health. Follow Brain & Life® on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The American Academy of Neurology is the world’s largest association of neurologists and neuroscience professionals, with more than 36,000 members. The AAN is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurological care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of disorders of the brain and nervous system, such as Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, concussions, Parkinson’s disease, and epilepsy.
