SUNY Cortland Professor of
Kinesiology Jeffrey Bauer knows what Parkinson’s disease looks like: shaking
hands, a shuffling walk, soft speech. He sees the symptoms in his 85-year-old
father, who was diagnosed with the progressive movement disorder five years
ago.
So it’s for both personal and
professional reasons that he’s leading a research team comprising four
colleagues and assisted by several SUNY Cortland students. They’re not focused
on finding a cure for the disease, which affects more than one million
Americans. Instead, they’re looking to improve the quality of life for people
with Parkinson’s disease in an innovative and active way.
“We know we’re not going to ‘fix’
people completely,” said Bauer, the project’s principal investigator. “Through
application of our understanding of movement science, we’re seeking to
temporarily reduce or remove the physical symptoms of the disease.
“We’re trying to maintain
functional capability for as long as possible with the hope that one day a cure
can be found.”
The project tests people with
young onset Parkinson’s, ranging in age from 21 to 50 years old, on an
elliptical-type machine known as the QuadMill. Initially designed for Olympic
mogul skiers to perform high-intensity, low impact training, the machine
targets the lower body.
Many researchers have prescribed
exercise as a way to improve life with the disease. In most instances, however,
recommendations such as two hours at the gym or a 20-mile bike ride prove
unreasonable in both their time commitments and feasibility for an older
population, Bauer explained. Enter the QuadMill, a moving platform that users
balance on in a squatting position. It offers lower body strength and conditioning
benefits in a fraction of the time required by traditional methods.
The new research also blends the
study of biomechanics and speech pathology, relying on collaboration between
two departments within the College’s School of Professional Studies.
“It’s great collaboration,” said
Irena Vincent, an associate professor of communication sciences and disorders,
who is collecting data on speech and voice while supervising the project with
Bauer. “Our students are phenomenal, and the participants are just incredible.”
Parkinson’s, an incurable
degenerative disease of the nervous system, frequently causes speech and
swallowing problems along with physical movement issues.
Kindra Bell was diagnosed with
Parkinson’s in March. The Ithaca, N.Y., resident discovered SUNY Cortland’s
research project through a trial finder tool created by the Michael J. Fox
Foundation, a non-profit organization devoted to finding effective therapies
and cures that was created by the popular actor who used his public struggle
with the disease to raise awareness. Bell traveled to Cortland twice a week
during a six-week trial.
She still returns to use the
machine regularly even though the initial study ended.
“I would do more if you let me do
more,” she told researchers while riding the QuadMill recently in the College’s
biomechanics lab.
“Really, it’s been fantastic,”
Bell said. “I see (Bauer and Vincent) twice per week and I’ve seen a
neurologist only three times … They’re almost like my healthcare team.”
The training system also boosts confidence
and mental health without prescription drugs. Besides the slow deterioration of
motor skills, Parkinson’s decreases the flexibility of the vocal folds, which
makes it more difficult to speak. This struggle can lead to social withdrawal
and eventually depression in some cases.
“It’s empowering because people
can do something to help themselves,” Bauer said.
For Bauer and Vincent, the project
also fulfills a goal they set several years ago to lead meaningful,
life-changing research together. Bauer served as Vincent’s faculty mentor when
she arrived at SUNY Cortland in 2007. A colleague and study participant from a
nearby college also played a key role in jumpstarting the research.
Bryan Roberts, the associate dean
of Ithaca College’s Park School of Communications, was diagnosed with
Parkinson’s six years ago. Today, he also works as a passionate advocate on the
Michael J. Fox Foundation Board of Directors. Roberts connected with the
Cortland research team after Bauer read about a 2015 keynote talk he delivered
for ARISE, a Syracuse-based nonprofit that serves people with disabilities.
“I think the work that Dr. Bauer
and Dr. Vincent are doing is on the vanguard of Parkinson’s disease research,”
said Roberts, 36, a former collegiate baseball player who remains active in
sports and still works long hours each week. “It’s the kind of work that can
impact people immediately, and that’s what we value at the Fox Foundation.
“There’s a head and a heart behind
it. That’s the cornerstone for good scientific inquiry.”
The project also brought in the
expertise of other SUNY Cortland kinesiology colleagues: Philip Buckenmeyer,
associate professor and chair; Erik Lind, an associate professor; and Mark
Sutherlin, assistant professor. The work also attracted the interests of both
undergraduate and graduate student researchers.
“We talk about these opportunities
all of the time in our classes,” Bauer said. “We try to create opportunities
that are more meaningful than just sitting in a classroom.”
The research team hopes to test
more Parkinson’s patients on the QuadMill and gather additional data on its
biomechanical, speech and psychological effects. Its overall goal is to
maintain or improve the patients’ quality of life. Eventually, the machine,
first tested as a possible Parkinson’s therapy at SUNY Cortland, could be seen
as a widely accepted treatment for the disease.
“There are problems out there that
can’t be fixed individually,” Bauer said. “But there are probably tools out
there and other people who can help. And if we can bring them together, then we
should.
“We should try to help people with
our research, and this is a way I think we can do it.”
http://www2.cortland.edu/news/detail.dot?id=635e78d1-729c-4791-a848-5859568f3cd9
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