Giselle Petzinger Giselle Petzinger, MD, an associate professor of Neurology at the University of Southern California, studies the extensive effects of how different types of exercise, in particular skill-based exercise, can affect the clinical outcome for people with Parkinson’s disease. Dr. Petzinger's work focuses on understanding how to promote brain repair after injury, particularly in the context of Parkinson's disease. She is currently investigating ways to enhance neuroplasticity in a preclinical model of the disease. She has examined the role of exercise in Parkinson's disease, with emphasis on how different types of exercise affect distinct regions of the brain. Her work has implications for improving the quality of life of patients diagnosed with the neurological disorder — a condition for which there is no cure. In this episode, we discuss:  00:00:00 - Introduction 00:06:57 - What is Parkinson’s disease? 00:11:57 - When symptoms of Parkinson’s disease appear  00:14:57 - Circuits in the brain can compensate for  substantia nigra dysfunction 00:18:37 - Hereditary risk factors of Parkinson’s disease 00:21:25 - Parkinson’s disease is associated with pesticide and pollutant exposure 00:26:57 - Exercise can lower the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease 00:35:38 - How skill-based exercise such as boxing reduces disease symptoms  00:47:49 - Treadmill exercise increased BDNF and brain health 00:58:33 - Exercise at 80 percent of maximum heart rate slowed Parkinson’s disease progression  01:01:31 - Why exercise may not fully replace medications  01:09:58 - DHA reduces motor symptoms and dyskinesia  01:12:12 - Patients with Parkinson’s disease have higher levels of inflammatory biomarkers  If you’re interested in learning more, you can read the full show notes here: https://www.foundmyfitness.com/episodes/giselle-petzinger Join over 300,000 people and get the latest distilled information on parkinson's disease straight to your inbox weekly: https://www.foundmyfitness.com/newsletter Become a FoundMyFitness premium member to get access to exclusive episodes, emails, live Q+A’s with Rhonda and more: https://www.foundmyfitness.com/crowdsponsor  

#060 Dr. Giselle Petzinger on Exercise for Parkinson's Disease

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