Researchers find how intense exercise helps to keep Parkinson's disease at bay

Washington [US], July 17 (ANI): Neuroscientists from the Catholic University of Rome's Faculty of Medicine and the A Gemelli IRCCS Polyclinic Foundation discovered that vigorous exercise might halt the progression of Parkinson's disease and outlined the underlying underpinnings. The discovery might open the path for novel non-drug treatments.
The study "Intensive exercise ameliorates motor and cognitive symptoms in experimental Parkinson's disease by restoring striatal synaptic plasticity" is published in the journal Science Advances.
The study was directed by the Catholic University, Rome Campus, and the A Gemelli IRCCS Polyclinic Foundation, in partnership with many research organisations, including the San Raffaele Telematic University Rome, CNR, TIGEM, the University of Milan, and the IRCCS San Raffaele, Rome.
It discovered a novel mechanism behind the beneficial benefits of exercise on brain plasticity.
The corresponding author, Full Professor of Neurology at the Catholic University and director of the UOC Neurology at the University Polyclinic A. Gemelli IRCCS Paolo Calabresi, said, "We have discovered a never observed mechanism, through which exercise performed in the early stages of the disease induces beneficial effects on movement control that may last over time even after training is suspended”.
“In the future, it would be possible to identify new therapeutic targets and functional markers to be considered for developing non-drug treatments to be adopted in combination with current drug therapies", he added. (ANI)