The Davis Phinney Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of people with Parkinson's disease (PD) today, announced that it has awarded four Parkinson's disease research centers with support to conduct a landmark study on the long-term changes in quality of life and mobility that occur in people with PD. The results of this research will help to advance the understanding of how interventions, such as exercise, impact changes in quality of life and mobility over the course of the disease.
The study, funded by the Davis Phinney Foundation in partnership with the Parkinson's Disease Foundation, will follow 200 people with PD for at least two years using a series of performance-based measures and patient-based self-report questionnaires to examine walking ability, balance, disease-specific impairments and quality of life. Study sites include: the University of Utah, Boston University, University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Washington University in St. Louis. Interim study findings will be available in 2010.
While much is known about how neurological symptoms change over the course of the disease in people with PD, very little is known about the impact that disease progression has on day-to-day function and quality of life. "This study addresses the critical need to understand the ways in which mobility and quality of life decline for people with PD over a long period of time," said Lee Dibble, Ph.D., PT, lead study investigator and assistant professor at the University of Utah Department of Physical Therapy. "There is a growing body of research evidence that demonstrates the benefits of exercise in improving walking, strength, flexibility and quality of life in people with PD. In order to appreciate the potential impact that exercise may have on improving mobility and quality of life, we need to understand more about the natural changes that occur in mobility and quality of life over time."