Research participants wanted to ‘train the brain’

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This article was published 02/02/2024 (594 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Westman participants are wanted for a research study looking into training the brain and the benefits of exercise for people who have Parkinson’s disease.

Brandon physiotherapist Mayur Nankar is contributing to the clinical trial by conducting research at his business, West Fit Physiotherapy and Sports Injury Clinic.

“We are looking for people between the ages of 55 and 70. People who have Parkinson’s and can walk independently, who may have tremors and balance issues. But even if they don’t have tremors or balance issues, it’s still worthwhile to have them come in for screening. And it doesn’t cost anything to be in the study,” said Nankar.

Researchers in physical therapy and neuroscience at the University of Manitoba’s faculty of health sciences are spearheading the provincial study that so far has 30 of the 60 participants it needs.

The commitment includes a 45-minute exercise program three times a week for 12 weeks at Nankar’s clinic. During the sessions, the participant’s balance and mobility are measured, along with cognition.

Cognition is the set of processes that take place in the brain including thinking, attention, language, learning, memory and perception.

The participants in the research study are divided into two groups — one to test their balance while sitting on an air or couch cushion, or on a balancing ball. The other group will be walking on a treadmill.

But both groups will be asked to play a video game while trying to maintain their balance.

“So, what that does, it basically destabilizes them, because they’re constantly moving their head while walking on the treadmill,” Nankar said. “But hey, that’s exactly what you do while crossing the road or trying to find your favourite lipstick at Walmart. You’re constantly scanning and screening while walking.

“But most of our seniors, or people with Parkinson’s, slow down. Or if those abilities are poor, then they trip, slip and fall down. So, one part of this assessment is definitely prevention. And the second is to train their brain to be able to do two things at one time,” he said.

“And that’s the research. They’re actually seeing which part of the brain is activated while this gaming system is being played.”

Researchers will see the brain activity, because participants will also undergo brain scans before, during and after the study at the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg, said Tony Szturm, a professor in the department of physical therapy at the U of M.

Szturm is a physiotherapist with a PhD in neuroscience who, along with the other researchers, was able to obtain $1.5 million in funding from Canada’s Weston Brain Institute for the three-year-long clinical trial.

“We do these very innovative functional brain scans and we can actually scan your brain activity while you’re walking with our PET scans,” said Szturm.

A PET scan shows how the brain and its tissues are working.

“So, with the PET scan we get to see what a Parkinson’s brain is like while they’re walking, and we can compare it to healthy individuals and we can see where the problem areas in the brain are, with patients,” Szturm said.

“Now, more important to us is to see what the brain does after our 12-week intervention. The 12-week intervention should improve their balance their gait and cognitive function and their ability to coordinate all of that.”

There are more than 4,000 Manitobans and about 96,000 Canadians living with Parkinson’s, according to Parkinson Canada.

Parkinson’s disease is a brain disorder that causes uncontrollable and unintended movements such as shaking, stiffness and for some people, difficulty walking and talking. The chemical, dopamine, controls the body’s movement and when the cells that produce dopamine die, the symptoms of Parkinson’s appear. There is no known cure.

Both Szturm and Nankar said the clinical trial will reap numerous benefits.

Besides the research data that may prove that balance can be improved by training the brain, the participants themselves will have made gains when it comes to their own cognitive function, said Szturm.

“There are exercises for muscle fitness, there are exercises for cardio fitness, and believe it or not, there are exercises for neuro fitness, balance, walking and cognition.

“So, in 12 weeks, their walking function, their dual-task function is going to get better,” Szturm said.

And both physiotherapists agreed that the ultimate benefit would be to take the exercise and balance training from the clinical trial and one day make it available to the public.

“This has the potential to go into a client’s home, or centres like the Healthy Living Centre or the YMCA for that matter,” said Nankar.

“All we have to do is bring these programs into the community so that we can delay the cognitive aging, to improve balance and prevent falls” he said.

“When people have a fear of falling, they stay at home and don’t do all the activities that enrich their lives, and that leads to cognitive decline and health complications. That’s the big piece.”

For more information on the clinical trial, or to volunteer for the 12-week research program, call West-Fit Physiotherapy and Sports Injury Clinic at 204-727-4753.

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