Background: Physical activity (PA) is increasingly advocated as an adjunct intervention for individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, the specific benefits of PA on the wide variety of impairments observed in patients with PD has yet to be clearly identified.Objective: Highlight health parameters that are most likely to improve as a result of PA interventions in patients with PD.Methods: We compiled results obtained from studies examining a PA intervention in patients with PD and who provided statistical analyses of their results. 868 outcome measures were extracted from 106 papers published from 1981 to 2015. The results were classified as having a statistically significant positive effect or no effect. Then, outcome measures were grouped into four main categories and further divided into sub-categories.Results: Our review shows that PA seems most effective in improving Physical capacities and Physical and cognitive functional capacities. On the other hand, PA seems less efficient at improving Clinical symptoms of PD and Psychosocial aspects of life, with only 50% or less of results reporting positive effects. The impact of PA on Cognitive functions and Depression also appears weaker, but few studies have examined these outcomes.Discussion: Our results indicate that PA interventions have a positive impact on physical capacities and functional capacities. However, the effect of PA on symptoms of the disease and psychosocial aspects of life are moderate and show more variability. This review also highlights the need for more research on the effects of PA on cognitive functions, depression as well as specific symptoms of PD.

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Objectives To explore the feasibility and acceptability of a new home-based exercise technology among older adults and to evaluate its efficacy on physical performance measures. Design Longitudinal clinical trial. Setting Oak Hammock at the University of Florida, a nursing home located in Gainesville, Florida. Participants Twelve pre-disabled older adults (≥75 years) living in a nursing home with a Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) score between 6 and 9 and no diagnosis of dementia. Intervention Thirty minutes of light intensity exercise (aerobic, strength and balance) two times per week for four weeks using a home-based physical activity technology called Jintronix. Measurements Feasibility and acceptability were assessed through a 9-item self-administered questionnaire and by exploring the percentage of quality of movements and time performing exercise which was calculated automatically by Jintronix technology. Physical performance measures were assessed through the SPPB score at baseline, after 4 weeks of intervention and after 3 months from the completion of the intervention. Results Twelve older adults (80.5±4.2 years old) performed light intensity exercise with Jintronix for a total of 51.9±7.9 minutes per week. Participants reached 87% score of quality of movements in strength and balance exercises, a global appreciation score of 91.7% and a global difficulty score of 36%. Compared to baseline, there was a significant improvement in SPPB score at the end of the intervention and at 3 months following the completion of the exercise program (0.67±0.98 and 1.08±0.99 respectively, p-value <0.05). Conclusion Jintronix technology is feasible and acceptable among pre-disabled older adults without dementia living in nursing home and is beneficial in improving their physical performance.

This twelve-week HEP intervention using the Jintronix® gerontechnology is feasible, acceptable and safe for community-living older adults who sustained a minor injury. This intervention could increase walking speed, the most important predictor of adverse events in the elderly population, and that the improvement could be maintained over time.

Aims Absolute grip strength (aGS) measures are not only used to detect dynapenia, but can also provide a robust indicator of functional impairments such as mobility limitations. Mobility limitations can impact community mobility. The main objective of this study was to investigate whether dynapenia status measured with aGS can be used as a predictor of the level of community mobility measured by Global Positioning System (GPS) and the Life-Space Assessment questionnaire (LSA) in healthy older adults. It has been shown that body weight related grip strength (GS/BW) is also a clinical predictor of functional limitation. The secondary objective of the study was to assess the relationship between the community mobility and the GS/BW. Method and resultsThe population studied (n=62) was composed of a dynapenic group of women (aged 66.4 ± 4.8) according to an aGS threshold of ≤ 19.9kg and an age-matched group of women (aged 66.1 ± 5.2) with no detectable dynapenia. Clinical and laboratory evaluations were conducted to measure functional capacity tests, body composition and respiratory capacity. Body weigth related to grip strength (GS/BW) was computed. During 12 days, each participant wore a GPS receiver unit with a data logging =-.67) compared system during waking hours. Transit distance in vehicle per day, Transit distance on foot per day and Ellipse area were extracted from the time series of GPS data (longitude, latitude) collected at 1 Hz. The Life space was assessed using a questionnaire. A Wilcoxon test was used to compare the 2 groups for the community mobility measures. Then, data of the 2 groups were pooled to assess the relationship between GS/BW and community mobility measures. A Spearman correlation was used. The dynapenic group had indeed lower aGS (z=-5.3, p≤.05, r=-.67) and GS/BW (z=-5.3, p≤.05, r=-.67)compared to the non-dynapenic group. Furthermore, we found a lower performance to the step test (z=-2.5, p=.011, r=-.32) and lower walking speed (z=-2.1, p=033, r=-.27) for the dynapenic group. However, no significant differences (Wilcoxon signed-ranks test) were found for community mobility measures with the GPS and the LSA between the two groups. There were significant positive relationships between the GS/BW and one leg stand test (r=.353, p=0.005), step test (r=.409, p=0.001) and walking speed (r=.428, p=0.001). No significant relationship (Spearman correlation test) was found for the GS/BW and community mobility measures with the GPS and the LSA. ConclusionsThis study confirms that aGS and GS/BW are good indicators of mobility limitations measured with clinical and laboratory evaluations. However, grip strength alone should not be considered as an indicator of community mobility restriction in an older adult dynapenic population.