Does nicotine actually help protect against Parkinson's disease?

April 11, 2019

The majority of Parkinson's cases are in North America. In Asia, on the other hand, it's much less common. Researchers are looking for ways to control the disease and are coming up with unusual results.

(Reuters Health) - People with Parkinson's disease may have less anxiety and depression when they practice yoga focused on mindfulness and breathing exercises, a small experiment suggests.

As reported April 8 online in JAMA Neurology, researchers randomly assigned 138 adults with Parkinson's to participate in eight weeks of either a mindfulness yoga program or an exercise program focused on stretching and resistance training to improve mobility and stability. All of the participants could stand and walk without canes or walkers.

Yoga was just as effective as stretching and resistance training for improving motor dysfunction and mobility, the study found.

But people who did yoga experienced greater reductions in anxiety, depression, and perceived hardship related to their illness. Patients in the yoga group also reported greater improvements in what's known as health-related quality of life, or how well they're able to function in daily activities despite their disease.

"Before the study, we knew that mind-body exercises such as yoga and stretching improve the physical health of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), however the benefit to their mental health was not known," said lead study author Jojo Kwok of the University of Hong Kong.

"This study concludes that mindfulness yoga alleviates psychological distress, improves spiritual well-being and quality of life, not to mention motor symptoms and mobility," Kwok said by email. "What is exciting, is that yoga has now been proven to be a better strategy than just stretching."

Each week during the study, people in the stretching and resistance training group had one weekly 60-minute group session. They were also encouraged to practice exercises at home for 20 minutes twice a week.

People in the yoga group had one weekly 90-minute session of hatha yoga, which focuses on breathing and meditation in addition to specific poses. They, too, were told to practice at home for 20 minutes twice a week.

Mindfulness-based training programs are designed to help people focus on the present moment and accept any pain or discomfort they may be feeling. This may involve meditation techniques to cultivate awareness of the present moment during ordinary daily activities such as driving or eating, or breathing exercises and practices such as yoga to help encourage body awareness and focus on the present.

Four participants in the yoga group reported temporary mild knee pain, as did two people in the stretching and resistance training group. None of the patients had more serious side effects.

One limitation of the study is that many participants dropped out. And, it's also possible results might be different for Parkinson's patients with more mobility limitations, who were excluded from the trial.

Still, the results add to the evidence that hatha and other forms of yoga may be beneficial for Parkinson's patients, said Catherine Justice, an integrative physical therapist at Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Mindfulness-based training programs are designed to help people focus on the present moment and accept any pain or discomfort they may be feeling. This may involve meditation techniques to cultivate awareness of the present moment during ordinary daily activities such as driving or eating, or breathing exercises and practices such as yoga to help encourage body awareness and focus on the present.

Four participants in the yoga group reported temporary mild knee pain, as did two people in the stretching and resistance training group. None of the patients had more serious side effects.

One limitation of the study is that many participants dropped out. And, it's also possible results might be different for Parkinson's patients with more mobility limitations, who were excluded from the trial.

Still, the results add to the evidence that hatha and other forms of yoga may be beneficial for Parkinson's patients, said Catherine Justice, an integrative physical therapist at Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Mindfulness-based training programs are designed to help people focus on the present moment and accept any pain or discomfort they may be feeling. This may involve meditation techniques to cultivate awareness of the present moment during ordinary daily activities such as driving or eating, or breathing exercises and practices such as yoga to help encourage body awareness and focus on the present.

Four participants in the yoga group reported temporary mild knee pain, as did two people in the stretching and resistance training group. None of the patients had more serious side effects.

One limitation of the study is that many participants dropped out. And, it's also possible results might be different for Parkinson's patients with more mobility limitations, who were excluded from the trial.

Still, the results add to the evidence that hatha and other forms of yoga may be beneficial for Parkinson's patients, said Catherine Justice, an integrative physical therapist at Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

https://www.dw.com/en/does-nicotine-actually-help-protect-against-parkinsons-disease/a-48291624