Towards proactive active living: patients with Parkinson's disease experience of a multidisciplinary intensive rehabilitation treatment.

Background: Non-pharmacological approaches to PD disease management seem to be a growing and promising field of investigation. Indeed interesting new perspectives are forthcoming from studies on physical rehabilitation and on physical exercise.

Aim: To qualitatively describe the rehabilitation experience of Parkinson Disease patients taking part in a multidisciplinary intensive rehabilitation treatment (MIRT) consisting of four weeks of physical therapy and exercise, with three daily sessions, five days a week.

Intensive rehabilitation treatment in early Parkinson's disease: a randomized pilot study with a 2-year follow-up.

Background: Although physical exercise improves motor aspects of Parkinson's disease (PD), it is not clear whether it may also have a neuroprotective effect. Objective. In this 2-year follow-up study, we determined whether intensive exercise in the early stages of the disease slows down PD progression.

Disexecutive functions and depression in patients with Parkinson disease: the impact on rehabilitation outcome.

Background: Studies relating to patients with Parkinson disease that assess neuropsychologic, psychologic, and clinical aspects are very uncommon.

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the impact of executive functioning (impaired vs. not impaired) or depression (depressed vs.

Intensive rehabilitation increases BDNF serum levels in parkinsonian patients: a randomized study.

Background: Exercise may decrease the risk of Parkinson's disease (PD) in humans and reduce PD symptoms in animal models. The beneficial effects have been linked to increased levels of neurotrophic factors.

Objective: We examined whether intensive rehabilitation treatment reduces motor disability in patients in the early stages of PD and increases brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) serum levels.

Effectiveness of an intensive rehabilitation treatment on different Parkinson's disease subtypes.

Goal And Objectives: Parkinsonian patients can be classified in two main subgroups: tremor dominant and akinetic-rigid. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether intensive rehabilitation treatment has the same efficacy in the two subtypes.

Material And Methods: Patients were classified according to tremor: 65 patients with absence of tremor in "on" and "off" state were assigned to Group_1 and 65 patients with tremor were assigned to Group_2.

Short- and long-term efficacy of intensive rehabilitation treatment on balance and gait in parkinsonian patients: a preliminary study with a 1-year followup.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease in which gait and balance disturbances are relevant symptoms that respond poorly to pharmacological treatment. The aim of this study was to investigate whether a 4-week inpatient multidisciplinary intensive rehabilitation treatment (MIRT) is effective in improving balance and gait and whether improvements persist at a one-year followup. We studied 20 PD inpatients (stage 3 Hoehn-Yahr) who underwent a MIRT.

The beneficial role of intensive exercise on Parkinson disease progression.

In the last decade, a considerable number of articles has shown that exercise is effective in improving motor performance in Parkinson disease. In particular, recent studies have focused on the efficacy of intensive exercise in achieving optimal results in the rehabilitation of patients with Parkinson disease. The effects of intensive exercise in promoting cell proliferation and neuronal differentiation in animal models are reported in a large cohort of studies, and these neuroplastic effects are probably related to increased expression of a variety of neurotrophic factors.

Asymmetry and freezing of gait in parkinsonian patients.

It has been hypothesized that freezing of gait (FOG) in parkinsonian patients (PD) might be triggered by a breakdown in the normal symmetry of gait. In this study, we evaluated the relationship between asymmetry of gait and FOG and the effects of intensive treadmill treatment on asymmetry. We studied 30 patients with (FOG+) and 30 without (FOG-) freezing in "on" stage.

Intensive rehabilitation treatment in parkinsonian patients with dyskinesias: a preliminary study with 6-month followup.

A major adverse effect of levodopa therapy is the development of dyskinesia, which affects 30-40% of chronically treated Parkinsonian patients. We hypothesized that our rehabilitation protocol might allow a reduction in levodopa dosage without worsening motor performances, thus reducing frequency and severity of dyskinesias. Ten Parkinsonian patients underwent a 4-week intensive rehabilitation treatment (IRT).

Rehabilitation improves dyskinesias in Parkinsonian patients: a pilot study comparing two different rehabilitative treatments.

Goal And Objectives: The present study was devised: (a) to test whether an intensive (60 hours in 4 weeks) multidisciplinary rehabilitation treatment (involving physiotherapy, exercises to improve gait and balance using treadmill and stabilometric platform, occupational therapy) for Parkinsonian patients is effective in improving dyskinesia and motor performance compared to a control group undergoing a non-intensive non multidisciplinary rehabilitation treatment (30 hours in 4 weeks involving physiotherapy only); and (b) to verify whether rehabilitation may lead to a reduction in levodopa dosage.

Material And Methods: Forty Parkinsonian patients suffering from dyskinesias were admitted to study: 20 for an intensive multidisciplinary (Group1) and 20 for a non-intensive non multidisciplinary rehabilitation treatment (Group2). The rating scales used for the clinical evaluation were: Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scales (UPDRS) II, III, IV, Parkinson's disease disability scale (PDDS), Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS).

Effectiveness of intensive inpatient rehabilitation treatment on disease progression in parkinsonian patients: a randomized controlled trial with 1-year follow-up.

Background: Rehabilitation treatments have acute beneficial effects in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients, but whether the effects persist over time is unclear.

Objective: To assess whether an intensive rehabilitation treatment (IRT) is effective in improving motor performance compared with a control group in a 12-month follow-up, to investigate whether a second cycle administered after 1 year has the same efficacy as the first treatment, and to determine whether IRT reduces the need for increasing levodopa dosage.

Methods: A total of 50 PD patients were randomly assigned to 2 groups; 25 participants had 4 weeks of inpatient physical therapy that included treadmill and stabilometric platform training.

Rehabilitation in Parkinson's disease: assessing the outcome using objective metabolic measurements.

Objective measurements to assess the efficacy of rehabilitation treatment in Parkinson's disease, suitable to be carried out routinely in the clinical setting, are lacking. Metabolic parameters, reflecting the recruitment and co-ordination of muscle fibers, might be simple instrumental measurements suitable for use as outcome markers. Twenty parkinsonian patients underwent a 4-week rehabilitation treatment.

Rehabilitation treatment of gait in patients with Parkinson's disease with freezing: a comparison between two physical therapy protocols using visual and auditory cues with or without treadmill training.

Freezing is a disabling symptom in patients with Parkinson's disease. We investigated the effectiveness of a new rehabilitation strategy based on treadmill training associated with auditory and visual cues. Forty Parkinsonian patients with freezing were randomly assigned to two groups: Group 1 underwent a rehabilitation program based on treadmill training associated with auditory and visual cues, while Group 2 followed a rehabilitation protocol using cues and not associated with treadmill.