SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – Specialists at UCSF have found that Parkinson's disease can be slowed down, stabilized and in some cases reversed with specific treatment.
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Research in medical science has allowed for advanced abilities to address diseases that have limited opportunity for people living and trying to thrive in spite of the illness. Dr. Caroline Tanner, a professor in UCSF's Department of Neurology, has special expertise in disorders that affect movement, epidemiology and environmental health, particularly with Parkinson's disease.
"Parkinson's is a progressive disorder of the nervous system, and the central features are slowness of movement, problems with walking and balance, and involuntary movements called tremors or shaking," Tanner told KCSB Radio’s Alice Wertz on "As Prescribed."
People may also have an array of other kinds of symptoms, including changes in thinking, especially later in the course of the illness, depression, anxiety and changes in autonomic function, making the disease all encompassing.
Tanner and her team are working to implement exercise into their patients' lifestyles to stave off the risk of the disease, as well as the progression once diagnosed.
"If you look at populations and measure who exercises and who doesn't, people who are regular exercisers are at a lower risk for developing Parkinson's disease in the future," Tanner said. "Parkinson's occurs in people most commonly over the age of 55 or 60, so if you're an exerciser in mid life, you're much less likely to get Parkinson's later in life."
However, not only does staying active help those prior to diagnosis, it is also highly beneficial for those suffering from the disease. "If you exercise after you've had your diagnosis, you can slow the progression of the disease, you can improve the symptoms of the disease and in a general sense this can be helpful for almost all of the symptoms," the UCSF professor said.
Most remarkably, Tanner explained that exercise directly helps the slowness of movement, the gaited balance problems and the tendency to fall that come with Parkinson's.
Tanner is conducting a study to find what is the best form of physical activity to aid the disorder. She and other scientists at UCSF are currently recruiting patients to be part of the research.
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