What is it about?
This matched control cross-species comparison was conducted to determine the amount and intensity of aerobic exercise needed to serve as an effective intervention capable of arresting motor and cognitive decline in early-stage Parkinson’s disease patients.
Why is it important?
Our findings are the first to calibrate the efficacy of moderate intensity aerobic exercise of 3 times a week, 30-minutes each session, for at least 3-months in an early-stage Parkinson’s disease patient for reverse translation to a rat PD model. As the patients showed improved motor and cognitive function, we captured a treadmill exercise intensity needed in the Pink1 Knockout to identify neurobiological mechanisms that can mitigate motor and cognitive impairments found in PD. We found that no loss of dopamine in the substantia nigra (SN) coincided with increased locomotor activity in the Knockout rats. We also showed that a moderate intensity exercise regimen in rodent PD models matches early-stage PD patient physical capabilities, which therefore provides a crucial platform upon which to translate the important neural mechanisms of exercise from rodent PD model back to human PD. Moreover, disease resilience is possible with the moderate intensity exercise regimen, and may prevent loss of dopamine in the SN. As such, early-stage patients can use the exercise efficacy principle, with predictive validity, that ‘333 – three, thirty, three’ (3 sessions a week for 30-minutes each for at least 3-months) can be an effective intervention strategy to curtail the progression of PD.