Exercise for people with Parkinson’s: a practical approach

Exercise is key to a healthy and productive life. For people with Parkinson’s, exercise has reported benefits for controlling motor and non-motor symptoms alongside the use of pharmacological intervention. For example, exercise prolongs independent mobility and improves sleep, mood, memory and quality of life, all further enhanced through socialisation and multidisciplinary team support. Recent research suggests that optimally prescribed exercise programmes following diagnosis may alter neurophysiological processes, possibly slowing symptom progression.Given its benefits, professionals should encourage and motivate people with Parkinson’s to exercise regularly from the time of diagnosis and provide guidance on what exercise to do. We provide examples of how the growing body of evidence on exercise for people with Parkinson’s is revolutionising the services they are provided. We also highlight new resources available to help the wider support network (people such as volunteers, partners and friends of people with Parkinson’s) with an interest in exercise promote a consistent message on the benefits of exercise.

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Non-Motor Symptoms of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Multi-Faceted Disorder

Journal of Neuromuscular Diseases ◽

10.3233/jnd-210632 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-15

Author(s):

Yuval Nash ◽

Michal Sitty

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ◽

Motor Symptoms ◽

Motor Pathways ◽

Progressive Degeneration ◽

Wide Range ◽

Growing Body ◽

Non Motor Symptoms ◽

Lateral Sclerosis

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive degeneration of motor pathways. A growing body of evidence from recent years suggests that ALS results in a wide range of non-motor symptoms as well, which can have a significant impact on patients’ quality of life. These symptoms could also, in turn, provide useful information as biomarkers for disease progression, and can shed insight on ALS mechanisms. Here we aim to review a wide range of non-motor symptoms of ALS, with emphasis on their importance to research and clinical treatment of patients.

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The Parkinson’s Real-World Impact Assessment (PRISM) Study: A European Survey of the Burden of Parkinson’s Disease in Patients and their Carers

Journal of Parkinson s Disease ◽

10.3233/jpd-212611 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-15

Author(s):

Eduardo Tolosa ◽

Georg Ebersbach ◽

Joaquim J. Ferreira ◽

Olivier Rascol ◽

Angelo Antonini ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Impact Assessment ◽

Real World ◽

European Countries ◽

Life Questionnaire ◽

Motor Symptoms ◽

Non Motor Symptoms

Background: A greater understanding of the everyday experiences of people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and their carers may help improve clinical practice. Objective: The Parkinson’s Real-world Impact assesSMent (PRISM) study evaluated medication use, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and the use of healthcare resources by people with PD and their carers. Methods: PRISM is an observational cross-sectional study, in which people with PD and their carers completed an online survey using structured questionnaires, including the Parkinson’s Disease Quality of Life Questionnaire (PDQ-39), Non-Motor Symptoms Questionnaire (NMSQuest) and Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI). Results: Data were collected from 861 people with PD (mean age, 65.0 years; mean disease duration, 7.7 years) and 256 carers from six European countries. People with PD reported a large number of different co-morbidities, non-motor symptoms (mean NMSQuest score, 12.8), and impaired HRQoL (median PDQ-39 summary score, 29.1). Forty-five percent of people with PD reported at least one impulse control behaviour. Treatment patterns varied considerably between different European countries. Levodopa was taken in the last 12 months by 85.9% of participants, and as monotherapy by 21.8% . Carers, who were mostly female (64.8%) and the partner/spouse of the person with PD (82.1%), reported mild to moderate burden (mean ZBI total score, 26.6). Conclusions: The PRISM study sheds light on the lives of people with PD and those who care for them, re-emphasising the many challenges they face in everyday life. The study also provides insights into the current treatment of PD in Europe.

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