Long-Term Wu Qin Xi Exercise on Response Inhibition and Cortical Connectivity in Parkinson's Disease: Design and Implementation of a Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Abstract

Background: Motor symptom disorders in patients with Parkinson disease (PD) are closely related to reduced inhibitory ability. Although exercise has been shown to improve this ability in patients with PD, its effects on proactive and reactive inhibition have not been determined. Most previous studies of inhibitory control disorder in people with PD have been behavioral, and little attention has been paid to functional cortical connectivity. Wu Qin Xi, a low–medium-intensity qigong exercise that is safe and easy to do for elderly individuals, can support physical well-being and help prevent and alleviate disease. In this study, our aims were to explore the effects of a long-term Wu Qin Xi intervention on response inhibition and to examine how improved inhibition control relates to cortical connectivity using dual-site paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (ppTMS), in patients with mild–moderate PD.Methods: A single-blind randomized controlled trial will be conducted. A total of 90 elderly subjects will be recruited and allocated randomly to Wu Qin Xi, balance exercise, and healthy control groups. The exercise interventions will be implemented in three 90-min sessions per week for 24 weeks; the healthy control group will receive no intervention. The primary assessments will be response inhibition metrics and task-based ppTMS. The secondary outcomes will include motor symptom severity, mobility, balance, emotional state, and quality of life. Assessments will be conducted at baseline, at the conclusion of the intervention period (week 24), and a few months after the intervention (week 36 follow-up).Discussion: This study is designed to provide insights into the effects of practicing Wu Qin Xi on response inhibition function in people with PD. The results will provide evidence on the value of traditional Chinese exercise as a therapeutic rehabilitation option for these patients. They will also provide data addressing how brain function–related cortical connectivity is related to reactive vs. proactive inhibition in people with PD participating in an exercise intervention.Clinical Trial Registration: This study has been registered prospectively in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2000038517, 18 January 2021).

Traditional Chinese Exercises for Cardiovascular Diseases: A Bibliometric Analysis

“…As mind-body therapies that originated in China, TCEs play an important role in complementary and alternative therapy in modern medicine (Song et al, 2021). Studies have shown that incorporations of TCEs into targeted rehabilitation for chronic low back pain (Wang et al, 2022), COPD (Ng et al, 2011), Parkinson's disease (Wang et al, 2021), and type 2 diabetes (Jia et al, 2021). Additionally, as a crucial component of cardiac rehabilitation, TCEs can improve fatigue, cardiorespiratory endurance, BP, and heart rate of CVD patients (Chen et al, 2018).…”

Selective effects of exercise on reactive and proactive inhibition in Parkinson’s disease

“…The procedure consisted of the collection of demographic information and administration of questionnaires and response inhibition tasks, which took about 1.5 h per participant. The questionnaires and behavioral tasks used in this study are the same as those used by Wang et al (2021) , which are part of the methodology in our published protocol.…”

Elderly Friendly Exercises: A PRISMA-Guided Review of the Literature to Enable Awareness of Exercise that are Recommended for Elderly

“…Three of them focused on frail older adults, including adults having a history of falls [21], a history of heart failure [22], and walking difficulty [17]. Some studied the effect on older adults with either anxiety disorder [29,31,35], depression [27,32,34,47], or both [44], while two of them targeted older adults suffering from insomnia and depression [36,39]. Six of the included studies studied the effect of cognition therapy on older adults suffering from dementia [28,30,38,41,45,49] ranging from mild to moderate dementia, vascular, Alzheimer's' or mixed.…”

“…Moreover, the outcomes of some of the studies support the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy in reducing insomnia, depression, and anxiety. The study Wang Z, et al [32] suggests that cognitive-existential group therapy with a picture of self and emphasis on training time and awareness of death in the elderly increased life expectancy reduced depression and improved the mental health of the elderly. Aerobic exercise is good not only for physical well-being but also for mental well-being.…”