The Effects of Whole Body Periodic Acceleration on Non-Motor Symptoms in Persons with Parkinson’s disease: A Pilot Study

Veronica Southard*, Soteroulla Roumba, Ilyse Schwartz, Nicole Sparacino, Katie Weddingfeld, Joanne Donoghue

Background and Purpose: In Parkinson’s disease (PD), some common non-motor symptoms include depression, anxiety, sleep disturbances. Non-motor symptoms affect quality of life. In PD, Nitric Oxide (NO) production is reduced, which inhibits sleep.  Whole body periodic acceleration (WBPA) has been found to increase secretion of NO.  In persons with PD, the effects of WBPA on sleep regulation and activity levels have yet to be evaluated. This study assessed whether WBPA would improve non-motor symptoms in persons with Parkinson’s disease when compared to gender matched controls. 

Methods: There were 10 participants. Five participants had PD and 5 healthy older adults (8 men; 2 women), mean age 74.1 (SD 9.2 years) participated. Activity trackers were employed to monitor sleep, awakenings, and step counts 24 hours per day over 6 weeks.  Sleep was also assessed using Sleep Quality Index, (PSQI); depressive symptoms, with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PDQ-9), and the (PDQ-8), a Parkinson’s disease Quality of Life report. WBPA interventions were for 45 minutes, 3 times per week for 4 weeks. Participants wore the activity trackers for 7 days before and after the intervention. Blood pressure (BP) was monitored before and after each session.

Results:  Repeated measures and paired t tests were used to assess data. Significantly decreased BP pre vs. post p .017 was found when groups were combined, also the controls only BP pretest to posttest t test was significant p.004; other significant findings were PD group PDQ-9 also had improved depressive symptoms p .025. Minimally Clinically Significant Differences (MCID) were also found in the PD participants, in the PSQI (4.25) points. PDQ-8 was trending toward improvement with 4.4 points improvement.  

Conclusion: This was the first study to assess the WBPA on non-motor symptoms of PD patients. Self-reports confirmed improvements in depression symptoms and sleep.  Even with a mean increase of 600 steps daily, decreased physical activity in those with mild to moderate PD was evidenced compared to controls. Interventions such as this may have a significant role in PD management non-motor symptoms. Further study with larger groups is warranted using WBPA.

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Published on: Aug 17, 2017 Pages: 77-82

Full Text PDF Full Text HTML DOI: 10.17352/2455-5487.000052
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