According to a story from Parkinson’s News Today, a three-year study has determined that dancing to music weekly may help slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease symptoms. This effect included both motor and non-motor symptoms. The effect seemed to have benefits in patients with mild or moderate disease. You can check out the abstract of this study here in the journal Brain Sciences.
About Parkinson’s Disease
Parkinson’s disease is a type of long-term, progressive, degenerative illness that affects the central nervous system. Symptoms tend to develop over a period of years and primarily affect the movement ability and mental state of the patient. The cause of Parkinson’s disease remains a mystery, although there are a number of risk factors that have been identified. These factors include head injuries, pesticide exposure, and certain genetic variants and mutations. About 15 percent of patients have a close relative with the disease, suggesting some genetic connection. Symptoms include slowed movements, poor coordination, trouble walking, shaking, stiffness, abnormal posture, depression, anxiety, inhibited thinking, hallucinations, and dementia. Treatment may involve a number of medications, rehabilitation, and surgical operations. Survival rate varies, but most patients survive around a decade after getting diagnosed. To learn more about Parkinson’s disease, click here.
About The Research
There is been previous research that has suggested that dancing could help improve motor function in Parkinson’s disease. However, this study specifically looked at the effect of weekly dance training on motor and non-motor symptoms. A total of 16 patients were involved in this study, including five women and eleven men who had mild to moderate disease. These patients took dance courses at the Canadian National Ballet School and Trinity St. Paul’s church in Toronto, CA.
There was also a 16 person control group of healthy volunteers who took the same courses. Remarkably, the patient group did not see progression in daily motor symptoms, including rigidity, tremors, balance, and speech. Meanwhile, the worsening of non-motor symptoms in this three-year period, such as depression, anxiety, hallucinations, or cognitive impairment, was also not significant.
While further, more strictly controlled trials on a larger patient group are needed, these findings are promising nonetheless.
“There may be changes in the brain that occur with dance with music, but more research is necessary.” – Joseph DeSouza, MD, PhD, lead study author
