Improvement in Parkinson's disease patients achieved by coordination dynamics therapy

Eight patients in whom Parkinson's disease had set on 5 to 10 years earlier underwent low intensity coordination dynamics therapy with on average 4 hours per week for 2.5 months. The ongoing pharmaco-therapy and the conventional fitness training for 1 to 2 hours per week were not changed. With the coordination dynamics therapy the functioning of the central nervous system (CNS) of the Parkinson's disease patients improved by 35%, as quantified by coordination dynamics measurements. Following 3 months of no coordination dynamics therapy, but further ongoing pharmaco-therapy and fitness training the CNS functioning worsened again by 21%. It is concluded that pharmaco-therapy and conventional fitness training alone cannot prevent the worsening of the CNS functioning in progressing Parkinson's disease, but additional coordination dynamics therapy can.