How physical activity may fight Parkinson’s disease symptoms

We know exercise is good for the body and mind. This may be especially true for people with early-stage Parkinson’s disease (PD). According to recent research by UCLA scientists, exercise may help fend off PD symptoms like worsening tremors, stiffness and balance issues. Chronic inflammation happens when the immune system becomes overactive in the brain and nervous system. This can bring on PD symptoms. “Prior research has found that a decrease in inflammation can play a crucial role in preventing or delaying the progression of PD,” says Yang Chen Hu, PhD, lead study author. There is still much to learn about long-term inflammation, says Dr. Hu. However, the study findings suggest that exercise can help people with PD feel better for longer. Dr. Hu is an epidemiology student in the laboratory of Beate Ritz, MD, PhD, a professor of epidemiology at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health with a co-appointment in the department of neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Dr. Ritz was one of the study’s senior authors, as was Cynthia Kusters, MD, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. “Our work takes a novel approach to studying inflammation, helping us understand how behavior and environmental exposures influence biological processes,” says Dr. Kusters. “This offers promising opportunities for studying how lifestyle factors and exposures relate to disease risk and progression.”