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Physical Exercise For Parkinson’s Disease: Clinical And Experimental Evidence



Alessandro Oliveira de Carvalho1, 2, Alberto Souza Sá Filho1, 3, 4, Eric Murillo-Rodriguez5, 8, Nuno Barbosa Rocha5, 8, Mauro Giovanni Carta6, Sergio Machado3, 7, 8, *
1 Institute of Psichiatry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (IPUB/UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2 Castelo Branco University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil;
3 Physical Activity Neuroscience, Physical Activity Sciences Postgraduate Program - Salgado de Oliveira University, Niterói, Brazil;
4 Physical Education Department, Faculty of Unidas de Campinas (FacUNICAMPS), Goiânia, GO, Brazil
5 Politechnique Institute of Porto, Healthy School, Porto, Portugal
6 Laboratorio de Neurociencias Moleculares e Integrativas Escuela de Medicina, División Ciencias de la Salud Universidad Anáhuac Mayab, Yucatán, Mexico
7 Laboratory of Panic and Respiration, Institute of Psichiatry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (IPUB/UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
8 Intercontinental Neuroscience Research Group, Yucatán, Mexico


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Creative Commons License
© 2018 Oliveira de Carvalho et al.

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the Laboratory of Physical Activity Neuroscience, Physical Activity Sciences Postgraduate Program - Salgado de Oliveira University, Brazil, Tel/Fax: 2135187880; E-mail: secm80@gmail.com


Abstract

Background:

National projections about the increase in the elderly population over 60 years bring with it an increase in the number of people affected by Parkinson's Disease (PD), making it an important public health problem. Therefore, the establishment of effective strategies for intervention in people with PD needs to be more clearly investigated.

Objective:

The study aimed to report the effectiveness of exercise on functional capacity and neurobiological mechanisms in people with PD.

Methods:

This study is a critical review of the literature.

Results:

The progressive death of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra is described as one of the main physiological mechanisms manifested before PD, directly interfering with motor behavior. However, PD is not only related to motor symptoms, but also to cognitive, autonomic, and mood impairments. Such effects may be attenuated by pharmacological influence, but also evidence suggests that the implementation of regular physical exercise programs may exhibit potential benefits over PD. The synthesis and expression of monoaminergic neurotransmitters can act positively on motor disorders, as well as directly or indirectly influence the neuronal plasticity of the brain, restoring neuronal pathways previously affected.

Conclusion:

Physical exercise contributes effectively to the treatment of PD, and can play a preventive and maintenance role of physical fitness and mental health.

Keywords: Parkinson’s disease, Aerobic exercise, Strength training, Brain-derived neurotrophic factor, Physical fitness, Mood impairment.