exercise and PD [11-12-04]

Physical exercise can help prevent Parkinson's
Disease, researchers say
http://www.newstarget.com/002270.html

No surprise here: physical exercise prevents
Parkinson's Disease. That's
on top of all the research showing it also
prevents osteoporosis, mental
depression, breast cancer, hip fractures, obesity
and diabetes.

In fact, that's just the beginning of the list.
There's no activity that's
more important for your long-term health than
regular exercise. It could
be cardiovascular exercise, strength training,
jogging, walking, swimming,
yoga or any other form of exercise. Just get off
the couch and do it.

Overview:

    * According to a new study, regular exercise
could halt the
degeneration of nerve cells which are normally
destroyed by Parkinson's
disease.
    * Researchers from the University of
Pittsburgh presented their
findings today at the Annual Meeting of the
Society for Neuroscience in
San Diego, California.
    * Parkinson's disease progressively destroys
a substance called
dopamine, which is contained in brain cells.
    * Dopamine is an essential neurotransmitter
that basically allows the
brain to control body movement.
    * In one study, researchers exposed
laboratory rats to a toxin that is
known to cause Parkinson's disease.
    * However, prior to exposing the rats to the
toxin, the researchers
forced the rats to exercise for a period of seven
days.
    * When the researchers examined the brain
cells of these animals, they
found significantly fewer dopamine-containing
neurons died, compared to
the animals that had not been exercised.
    * Lead study author, Dr. Michael Zigmond
believes exercise stimulates
the production of key proteins that are required
for the survival of
neurons.
    * "Our data suggest the possibility that
exercise can make dopamine
neurons resistant to neurotoxins and may
therefore be a useful therapy for
Parkinson's disease," said Annie Cohen, a
doctoral student at the
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.