Dance for PD: a preliminary investigation

of effects on motor function and quality of

life among persons with Parkinson’s
disease (PD)
 Authors
 Authors and affiliations
 Olie Westheimer
 Cynthia McRae
 Claire Henchcliffe
 Arman Fesharaki
 Sofya Glazman
 Heather Ene
 Ivan Bodis-Wollner

In 2001, Dance for Parkinson’s disease (DfPD®) classes for persons with Parkinson’s disease and
care partners were developed by Brooklyn Parkinson Group and Mark Morris Dance Group. A
previous assessment suggested that individuals experience positive benefits from DfPD®. The
current preliminary uncontrolled study investigated the effects of a dance intervention on several
motor and quality of life aspects of PD following 16 sessions (8 weeks; 20 h) taught by
professional dancers/teachers. A mixed methods design was used to determine the effects of the
class. Assessment instruments administered at baseline and post-intervention included the Hoehn
and Yahr, UPDRS (part III), Berg Balance Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, and PDQ-39 and
individual interviews after the last class. Hoehn and Yahr scores ranged from 1 to 4. UPDRS III
total scores and sub scores of gait and tremor improved following the intervention (P < 0.05).
During interviews participants reported physical, emotional, and social benefits. Despite the
diversity of baseline measures post-class interview results were consistently positive across the
sample. Twelve of 14 subjects (mean age 66.2) with idiopathic PD completed the sessions. After
4 years, four participants regularly attended DfPD® classes. The low attrition rate and continued
attendance suggest notable adherence to the DfPD® class. The importance of the results is both
clinical and conceptual, highlighting the value of using both quantitative and qualitative data to
evaluate the benefits of dance with PD.

. Examining Dance as an Intervention in Parkinson’s Disease: A 310 Systematic Review.

 Examining Dance as an Intervention in
Parkinson’s Disease: A Systematic Review
 Rosalind Mandelbaum & 

 Albert C. Lo 

American Journal of Dance Therapy volume 36, pages160–175(2014)Cite this

article
 1380 Accesses
 10 Citations
 14 Altmetric
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Abstract
Recently, dance has become a therapeutic and rehabilitative intervention for
individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Compared with traditional gait
training or other rehabilitative interventions, dance appears to be a safe, fun,
and an alternative way to achieve functional changes and improvements in
mobility, gait, balance, and quality of life. This paper reviews literature
regarding dance and PD in terms of enrollment size, dosage and frequency of
intervention, class size, comparison or control groups, outcome measures, and
effect size. A search was conducted on PubMed, Web of Sciences, Cochrane
Library, and Google Scholar using the terms “dance” and “Parkinson’s
disease.” Ten papers were included in this review: seven of which examined
walking speed, nine that included measures of balance, one study that
examined upper extremity function, eight studies that measured disability
rating, and one study that examined falls. Only five studies had control
groups, three of which were active control groups. Various studies have
clinical design issues such as inclusion of a control group, outcome measures
or the way in which the intervention was administered. Essential outcome
measures to include are safety, tolerability, quality of life, and falls. These
measures determine information on treatment effects, adverse event rates,
and dropout rates.

Aerobic exercise intervention improves aerobic capacity

and movement initiation in Parkinson's disease patients

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Bergen, John L. | Toole, Tonya | Elliott III, Robert G. | Wallace,
Brian | Robinson, Keith | Maitland, Charles G.
Affiliations: University of West Florida, Pensacola, FL, USA | Florida State
University, Tallahassee, FL, USA | Cardiac Rehabilitation Center, Tallahassee,
FL, USA | Tallahassee Memorial Health Care (Neuroscience Center),
Tallahassee, FL, USA
Note: [] Address for correspondence: John L. Bergen, Assistant Professor,
Division of Health, Leisure, and Exercise Science, Building 54, Room 126,
University of West Florida, 11000 University Parkway, Pensacola, FL 32514-5750,
USA. Tel.: +1 850 474 2596; Fax: +1 850 474 2106; E-mail: jbergen@uwf.edu
Abstract: Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a progressive neurologic disorder, which
includes an inability to activate appropriate muscle activity. Very little research
has analyzed aerobic exercise for PD patients. The purpose of this study was to
investigate the effect of a 16 week aerobic exercise intervention on aerobic
capacity and movement initiation (MI) time for PD patients. With 8 PD subjects
(Hoehn & Yahr stage 2), 4 completed the exercise intervention. Peak VO_2scores
significantly improved (26%) Choice MI improved from 532 ms to 415 ms, while
simple MI improved from 285 ms to 261 ms. The improvement in aerobic capacity
suggests that PD patients may benefit from exercise just as much as a normal
population. The change in MI indicates that aerobic exercise may reduce the
detrimental effects of neuromuscular slowing within PD patients, by improving
the subjects' ability to initiate and perform appropriate movement patterns.

High-intensity interval training prevents

cognitive-motor impairment and serum
BDNF level reduction in parkinson mice
model
 Ayoob Sabaghi, 

 Ali Heirani, 

 Hadis Mahmoodi & 

 Sana Sabaghi 

Sport Sciences for Health volume 15, pages681–687(2019)Cite this article

 52 Accesses
Abstract
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by a
progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra
pars compact (SNpc). Previous studies have shown that cognitive deficits and
motor impairment symptoms seen in PD and that physical exercise may exert
beneficial effects on PD. In most cases, brain-derived neurotrophic factor
(BDNF) is involved in such effects. However, little is known on the role of
BDNF in exercise, especially high-intensity interval training (HIIT)-related
effects on PD. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of 6 weeks
HIIT against experimentally reserpine (RES)-induced PD in male mice, by
analyzing the motor coordination, learning and serum BDNF level. Male mice
received 20 (s.c) injections of 0.1 mg/kg RES or vehicle, every other day.
Rotarod and spontaneous alternation tests were used for measurement of
motor coordination and short-term memory, respectively, and serum levels of
BDNF were also measured using the ELISA technique. All behavioral tests
were performed 48 h after the RES injection. RES injection caused a
significant motor coordination and cognitive deficits (p < 0.05) and these
effects were reversed in mice after receiving exercise protocol. HIIT improved
the motor coordination and cognitive performance against RES
administration (p < 0.05). Also, serum BDNF level was decreased in mice
RES-induced PD (p < 0.05) and HIIT restored this to control levels (p < 0.05).
Taken together, our results suggest that HIIT shows a protective effect in a
mice model of PD and may repair motor coordination and cognitive
dysfunctions in PD due to increased serum levels of BDNF.

Comparing the influence of exercise

intensity on brain-derived neurotrophic
factor serum levels in people with
Parkinson’s disease: a pilot study
 Authors
 Authors and affiliations
 Ailish O’Callaghan

 Marguerite Harvey

 David Houghton
 William K. Gray

 Kathryn L. Weston

 Lloyd L. Oates

 Barbara Romano

 Richard W. Walker

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Original Article

First Online: 12 October 2019

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 102Downloads
Abstract
Introduction

Endogenous brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is thought to be protective against the

neurodegeneration seen in Parkinson’s disease (PD), and is thought to increase during exercise.
This has been proposed as a possible mechanism by which exercise improves outcomes for
people with PD. We conducted a pilot study to investigate the role of exercise intensity on
BDNF levels in people with PD.

Methods

Participants of early- to mid-stage disease were recruited from a single PD service in north-east
England, UK into two separate studies of exercise in PD, one involving moderate-intensity
continuous training (MICT) and one involving high-intensity interval training (HIIT), both had
control groups. In both the interventions, participants exercise three times per week for
12 weeks. Blood samples were taken for BDNF analysis at the start and end of the first session
and the start and end of the final session, with corresponding samples taken in controls.

Results

Data were available for 27 participants (13 intervention, 14 control) in the MICT intervention
and 17 (9 intervention, 8 control) in the HIIT intervention. BDNF level did not rise significantly
from the start to end of individual sessions. Across the 12 week period, they rose significantly in
the HIIT intervention group, but not in controls or the MICT intervention group.

Conclusions

High-intensity interval training appears to have a greater impact on BDNF than MICT. Future
work should directly compare exercise modalities and investigate the impact of BDNF levels on
disease progression and quality of life.