Effects of 3 months of aerobic training on fitness of Parkinson's disease patients

Objectives.– To assess the effects of an aerobic training for people with Parkinson's disease (PD).

Methods.– Fourteen patients with Hoehn & Yahr stage [1] < III of PD were allocated to either 3 months of twice-weekly aerobic training (AT group; n = 8), or a control group (C group; n = 6). AT consisted in progressive stationary bike training between 50 and 70% of peak work load (PWL). Maximal incremental test on a cycloergometer was performed before and after rehabilitation. Anxiety, depression and quality of life were assessed using questionnaires. An Anova for repeated measures was used for statistical analysis.

Results.– There was a significant “group by time” effect for peak work load (+21% for patients of AT group vs –9% for people of C group). Heart rate 2 minutes after test completion was also significantly decreased in AT group (post hoc analysis, P < 0.01). Patients of AT group also increased their ratio of predicted VO2 peak (+17%) but in a non-significant way. No significant changes in anxiety, depression or quality of life could be highlighted.

Conclusions.– This study showed significant improvement of PWL and faster recovery in patients with PD of the AT. Significant effect on VO2 peak could need a more intense training program.