Article

We have made a 3-arm trial (group vs. individual exercise vs. no
treatment) to test the effects of a 6-month exercise program upon the executive
functions in participants with Parkinson disease. METHODS: Twenty-four subjects
were randomly allocated in 3 groups and undertook individualized exercises (G1, n
= 8), group exercises (G2, n = 8), or monitoring (G3, n = 8). Executive functions
were evaluated by means of the Wisconsin card sorting test and the Raven colored
matrices, both assessed at the beginning of the program and after 6 months. The
statistical analyses consisted of the application of repeated measurement tests,
with a significant level of 5%. RESULTS: The findings showed similar behavior of
groups in terms of the Wisconsin card sorting test (P = 0.792), reporting no
benefit of the program on such instrument. Differently, Raven colored matrices
evidenced a significant benefit provided by the intervention (P = 0.032).
Compared with the control group, individuals from G1 had a substantial
improvement on executive functions (P = 0.031) and from G2 had a trend of
significance (P = 0.072). CONCLUSION: Findings of this study show that 6 months
of exercise improved some aspects of executive functions when compared with
control peers. Individual therapy seems to have a more prominent improvement than group therapy.

Langue : ANGLAIS