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Dancing to music may stop the progression of the burden of motor symptoms and negative experiences of daily living in people with Parkinson’s disease (PD), according to the results of a study published last week in Brain science.
As the fastest growing neurodegenerative disease in the world, PD is characterized by a heterogeneous disease course that includes both motor and non-motor symptoms. Additionally, the progressive nature of the disease can cause these symptoms to worsen, says study lead author and lead researcher Joseph DeSouza, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Psychology at York University, because even a disability Light motor can have a lasting effect on daily operation.
“A lot of these motor symptoms lead to isolation because once they get extreme, these people don’t want to go out,” DeSouza said in a statement. “These motor symptoms lead to other psychological problems, depression, [and] social isolation, and eventually symptoms worsen over time.
In recent years, significant improvements in motor and non-motor symptoms have been observed in non-pharmacological exercise strategies, such as Tai Chi and table tennis. In a one-of-a-kind study, DeSouza and her colleague Karolina Bearss, a doctoral candidate at York University, sought to explore the potential effectiveness of another non-pharmacological approach, dance lessons, on symptom progression. of motor and non-motor MP.
“The dance is so complex; it’s a multisensory type of environment, ”said Bearss. “It incorporates and stimulates your auditory, tactile, visual and kinesthetic senses, and adds an interactive social aspect. Regular exercise doesn’t offer these aspects. There is so much more to dance to.”
They conducted a longitudinal study of patients with mild to moderate PD who participated in a weekly 1.25 hour dance class for 3 years (n = 16; mean [SD] age, 68.7 [8.4] years; 11 men) who offered both aerobic and anaerobic exercise. Participants learned the choreography of an upcoming show that began with live music during the seated warm-up, then bar work, and finally a movement on the floor.
In addition, classes were recorded, with participants being assessed through the Movement Disorders Society Modified Parkinson’s Disease Unified Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) and a subsection of the Scale of physical activity for the elderly (PASE) called Leisure Time Activity. This group of patients was compared to a reference group of 16 non-dancing patients with PD (mean [SD] age, 69.8 [4.9] years).
In their results, patients in the intervention group showed no motor decline over the 3-year interval compared to those in the comparison group who showed an expected motor decline (P <.01). No significant declines were also observed for non-motor aspects of daily living, motor experiences of daily living and motor complications in the intervention group.
Notably, a large group of the two populations who train weekly were identified by interaction days as having less motor impairment (mean [SD], 18.75 [7.82]) than the non-exercising reference group patients (mean, 24.61 [9.67]) overtime (P <.05), as measured by the MDS-UPDRS.
“Currently, there is no specific intervention with PD and the usual remedies are pharmacological interventions, but few options are offered for alternative exercises or additional interventions to push their brains,” DeSouza said. “I hope this data will shed light on additional therapies for this group and be used in the treatment process. There may be changes in the brain that occur with dancing to music, but more research are necessary.”
Reference
Bearss KA, DeSouza JFX. The progression of the motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease slowed with the learning of multisensory dance over 3 years: a preliminary longitudinal investigation. Brain Sci. Published online July 7, 2021. doi: 10.3390 / brainsci11070895
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