PARKINSON'S DISEASE NEWS

9th September 2010 - New research

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND THE RISK OF PARKINSON'S DISEASE

Neurology [2010] 75 (4) : 341-348 (Xu Q, Park Y, Huang X, Hollenbeck A, Blair A, Schatzkin A, Chen H.) Complete abstract

Higher levels of regular moderate to vigorous activity when somebody is in their late thirties and in the past ten years has been found to reduce the risk of Parkinson's Disease by 40%. Moderate to vigorous activities at earlier ages (prior to their late thirties), or light activity had no effect on the likelihood of developing Parkinson's Disease. The primary symptom of Parkinson's Disease is excessive muscle contraction. Although the initial effect of exercise is to increase muscle contraction, the after effect of exercise is to reduce reduce muscle contraction. This has the same type of effect on the muscles as most Parkinson's Disease drugs. However, exercise does not raise dopamine levels as most Parkinson's Disease drugs do. So exercise does not directly affect Parkinson's Disease, but can reduce the proneness to it. Consequently, a lack of physical activity could also increase the proneness to developing Parkinson's Disease.  For more current news go to Parkinson's Disease News.

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Parkinson's Disease News details all significant new research, news reports, new books, and new resources concerning Parkinson's Disease and those medical disorders that often coincide with Parkinson's Disease. It is compiled from an analysis of  all newly published research, news reports, new clinical trials, all newly published books, and new web sites. A summary and analysis of the new research are provided,  as well as links to the complete abstracts and news reports