A study published today in the journal Neurology suggests that moderate exercise, such as brisk walking, may improve symptoms of Parkinson's disease..

About 1,000,000 people suffer from Parkinson's disease in the United States, and the number of patients in the world is estimated at 4-6 million, according to Pannochka, an online publication for girls and women aged 14 to 35.. net The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that complications of Parkinson's disease are the 14th leading cause of death in America.

Parkinson's disease predominantly affects people over the age of 50.. The main symptoms of the disease are tremor, stiffness of the muscles of the limbs, slow speech and imbalance.. As they progress, these symptoms become more pronounced, starting to affect the daily life of the patient..

Today, medicine cannot offer a cure for Parkinson's disease, although there are many drugs and methods to relieve symptoms.. A new study, described in the Journal of the American Academy of Neurology, appears to have added a new method to the list..

Studying moderate loads.

Researchers analyzed 60 people with Parkinson's disease aged 50-80 to assess the effect of aerobic exercise (brisk walking) on \u200b\u200bdisease symptoms.. They wanted to determine whether a specific exercise program would be beneficial, tolerable, and safe for such patients..

Participants were asked to participate in a 45-minute session that included moderate-intensity walking 3 times per week for 6 months.. Patients wore heart rate monitors on their arms, which allowed them to control heart rate, and also filled out questionnaires to check their physical fitness, memory, mood, motor functions and mental abilities..

Suggested activities met the criteria for "

This study was supported by the Department of Veterans Affairs, the National Research Resource Center, the National Institute for Health and Environmental Sciences, and the Charles and Harriet Seedorff Family Private Foundation..

The researchers found that brisk walking led to the following effects:.

•Improvement of motor functions and mood by 15%.

•Improved attention control by 14%.

• Improvement of physical form by 7%.

• 11% reduction in fatigue On tests of motor function, there was an improvement of 2.8 points - an indicator that scientists call clinically significant.

Walking is a promising method.

Study author Dr. Ergun Uc, of the University of Iowa and consultant at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center at Iowa, says: "

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But this study has some limitations.. The sample was relatively small, and the study itself lasted only six months.. It also took place without a control group, and it is not known what influence other, unaccounted for factors may have had on the results..

The authors state that further, larger studies are needed to confirm their findings..

They will help to study in more detail the effect of exercise on Parkinson's disease, as well as to try out other sets of exercises..

However, there is no cure yet for Parkinson's disease, and any new way to relieve symptoms is of great interest to doctors, patients, and their families.. Moderate-intensity exercise is certainly safe, and no one bothers patients to talk to a doctor and try this method in practice.. If not for Parkinson's, then to improve overall fitness and mood.

medbe. en.