Dancing: Could it provide a clue to curing Parkinson’s?

Beethoven once said: “Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy.” And now a research project at the University of Calgary is attempting to unravel why dancing to familiar music can provide temporary relief for patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease.

Parkinson’s occurs when certain nerve cells in the brain die or become impaired. These cells normally produce a chemical known as dopamine which allows for smooth, coordinated movement of a body’s muscles.

The research at the University of Calgary will investigate why music and dance can lift some patients out of an immobile or frozen state, known as gait-freezing, and allow them to temporarily escape the crippling affects of the disease.

One study participant, Sheila McHutchison, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s 12 years ago and slowly began to lose her ability to walk and drive. But after only a few minutes on the dance floor, the 65-year-old Calgary resident found herself dancing like a teenager.

“When I dance… it’s like the Parkinson’s doesn’t exist,’ says McHutchison. “For that short time when the music’s playing and we’re dancin it’s a powerful feeling.”

While it’s long been known music stimulates movement in patients afflicted with the progressive neurodegenerative disease, the science behind the phenomenon has yet to be discovered, says Dr. Bin Hu, head of the research team.

“We know music works temporarily, but if we want to prolong its effects, we have to know exactly what’s going on inside the brain,” says Dr. Hu. “It definitely involves neurochemical changes because brain cells talk to each other by releasing chemicals. There’s (a chemical) we want to identify that triggers the music effect.”

The neuroscience professor and his team of researchers received a $1.5-million grant from The Canadian Institutes of Health Research, one of 793 grants announced recently by federal Health Minister Tony Clement. In all, more than $273 million in grants were announced for projects aimed at studying wait times, heart disease, mental health and cancer, among other issues.

The University of Calgary research could provide a better quality of life for Parkinson’s patients, as well as those with other neurological conditions, including stroke, dementia and multiple sclerosis, says Hu.

More than 100,000 Canadians are afflicted with Parkinson’s. The disease, first described as “the shaking palsy” in 1817 by British physician James Parkinson, presently has no cure although a variety of medications provide some relief from the symptoms.

Early symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are subtle and occur gradually, including:
o Fatigue
o General feeling of malaise
o Feeling shaky
o Speaking too softly
o Spidery, cramped handwriting
o Losing track of a word or thought
o Irritability or depression for no reason.
o Lack of facial expression
o Tremors, beginning usually in one hand
o Unsteady movement

For more information on Parkinson’s, visit these websites:
Michael J. Fox Foundation: www.michaeljfox.org/
The Parkinson’s Institute: www.thepi.org
Parkinson Society Canada: www.parkinson.ca
The World Parkinson Congress, Inc.: www.worldPDcongress.org
Young Onset Parkinson’s Association: www.yopa.org

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