Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Parkinson’s Disease Symptoms
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a nervous system disorder that can cause a gradual decline in the ability to perform daily tasks. For instance, PD can cause an individual to experience slowed movements, stiffness, and dementia. This disease has become widespread over the years with 8.5 million individuals being diagnosed with PD as of 2019. Because PD is a condition that has no known causes and manifests later on in an individual’s life, there are currently no ways to prevent the disease. While this is the case, a study conducted by researchers at the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour suggests that aerobic exercise may reduce symptoms of Parkinson’s disease by influencing brain networks involved in cognitive control, processes in the brain that coordinate our tasks.
In this study, researchers found a correlation between aerobic exercise and reduced global brain atrophy. Specifically, it sought to understand how aerobic exercise may stabilize structural and functional changes in the corticostriatal sensorimotor network; allowing for the improvement of motor skills. In PD patients, regions that control sensation and motor function that normally communicate with the posterior putamen must now communicate with the anterior putamen since the posterior is more heavily affected by dopamine depletion. Therefore, researchers hypothesized that aerobic exercise would cause a shift toward communication of the cortical sensorimotor regions with the anterior putamen in the participants, which would lessen symptoms such as decreased motor skills.
In this study, researchers found a correlation between aerobic exercise and reduced global brain atrophy. Specifically, it sought to understand how aerobic exercise may stabilize structural and functional changes in the corticostriatal sensorimotor network; allowing for the improvement of motor skills. In PD patients, regions that control sensation and motor function that normally communicate with the posterior putamen must now communicate with the anterior putamen since the posterior is more heavily affected by dopamine depletion. Therefore, researchers hypothesized that aerobic exercise would cause a shift toward communication of the cortical sensorimotor regions with the anterior putamen in the participants, which would lessen symptoms such as decreased motor skills.
Parkinson’s causes a deterioration in an individual’s motor skills, causing slowness of movement, dizziness, muscle cramps, and proneness to falling.
Image Source: AndrewLozovyi
This study consisted of 57 participants diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, 24 of which were randomly placed in an “aerobic exercise” group, and the other 31 were randomly placed in a “stretching” control group that partook in stretching, flexibility, and relaxation exercises. The “aerobic exercise” group partook in exercises that involved cycling on a stationary bike. Both groups took part in these activities three times per week for 30–45 minutes over a period of six months. Data were collected utilizing both Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and clinical assessments such as the Movement Disorders Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS‐UPDRS‐III) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). MRIs provided the researchers with visuals of the participants’ brains, allowing them to conclude that a shift toward communication between the anterior putamen and cortical sensorimotor regions was present. Clinical assessments such as the MDS-UPDRS-III and MoCA quantitatively measured cognitive abilities such as attention, concentration, and memory, as well as the prevalence of motor symptoms commonly associated with Parkinson’s. Results showed that individuals who participated in aerobic exercise scored lower on the MDS-UPDRS-III than those in the control group, meaning that they exhibited fewer PD symptoms.
Overall, while it can be concluded that aerobic exercise appears to lessen the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease through the alteration of brain networks, there were some limitations to the study. One limitation was a small sample size that may not be representative of the large population that has been diagnosed with PD. Future studies should focus on studying the effects of aerobic exercise on individuals with varying severity levels of Parkinson’s disease.
Overall, while it can be concluded that aerobic exercise appears to lessen the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease through the alteration of brain networks, there were some limitations to the study. One limitation was a small sample size that may not be representative of the large population that has been diagnosed with PD. Future studies should focus on studying the effects of aerobic exercise on individuals with varying severity levels of Parkinson’s disease.
Featured Image Source: Anna Shvets
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