Parkinson’s Patients Play Nintendo to Test
Occupational Therapy
Foul ball and improved walking ability brings a cheer
for Ingrid Bell
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Ingrid Bell uses the Nintendo Wii
with guidance from her therapist, Jessica Westmeier-Shuh. The
study is examining the efficacy of occupational therapy in
treating Parkinson's disease. Photo by Medical College of
Georgia |
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April 7, 2008 - It’s Ingrid Bell’s turn at bat. She
steps up to the plate, awaiting the pitch. A 70-mph fastball soars
toward her. She swings and connects with the ball.
Foul ball! Everyone cheers for her anyway.
This baseball game’s not taking place on a field,
and there’s no real bat or ball to be seen. Mrs. Bell is playing the
Nintendo Wii as part of her occupational therapy. She is among 30
Parkinson’s disease patients participating in a Medical College of
Georgia study to determine if occupational therapy enhances the
treatment of the disease.
Parkinson’s disease affects daily tasks that people
take for granted. Brushing teeth, getting out of bed and walking become
a problem for these patients because of dopamine depletion, which
results in stiffness or slowing of movement and fine motor dysfunction.
“Occupational therapy looks at how the illness
affects the patient’s whole life, from the psychological, cognitive and
sensory motor standpoints,” says Dr. Ben Herz, assistant professor of
occupational therapy in the School of Allied Health Sciences and a study
principal investigator along with Dr. John Morgan, neurologist. “Our
therapists are responsible for helping someone maintain or gain their
independence with functional activities.”
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About Parkinson’s Disease
Senior Citizens Most Common Victims |
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According to the National Parkinson
Foundation, 1.5 million Americans currently have the
degenerative illness, which strikes men and women in roughly
equal numbers, usually after the age of 65.
This chronic, progressive nerve
disorder is characterized by a steady loss in brain cells
producing the neurotransmitter dopamine, which alters the
function of brain networks controlling motor function.
Medications, as well as surgical techniques such as deep-brain
stimulation, can treat some of the symptoms of the progressive
disease, but there is no known cure.
Click for more at NPF |
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While occupational therapy is frequently used in
the comprehensive care of Parkinson’s patients, evidence is needed to
support its short- or long-term effectiveness, says Dr. Herz.
“We’re hoping to show a slowing of the progression
of the disease and a decrease in medication while increasing function.
If we can teach patients to exercise and do functional activities, maybe
we can have them take less medications,” he says.
Study participants are divided into an experimental
group receiving therapy or a control group that does not. Each
participant meets individually with an occupational therapist for one
hour a week for eight weeks.
Participants in both groups are given functional
and standardized tests and evaluated on a quality-of-life scale before
and after therapy begins, then four months later. The control group has
the option to receive therapy after the second evaluation.
“None of the participants have had occupational
therapy before because we wanted no preconceived notions of what
therapists would do or how they would do it,” Dr. Herz says. “A few
participants were probably taken aback when they heard they’d be playing
video games.”
But the Wii has been popular with both participants
and therapists.
“Because the Wii is interactive and you have to do
certain functional movements to be successful, it’s an effective
modality for working with Parkinson’s patients,” says Dr. Herz. “One of
the therapists uses the Wii for timing and loosening up, and the other
uses it for coordination and balance issues.”
Participants also perform functional activities,
such as dressing and rolling over in bed; fine motor skills, like
circling in word searches and carefully moving blocks in the game Jenga;
and stretching.
“These therapists are thinking way out of the box.
They’re doing activities that will make a difference in these
participants’ lives based on what we know about Parkinson’s,” Dr. Herz
says.
Early results show at least short-term gains.
Therapists set goals for each participant prior to treatment. These
goals range from independence with daily living activities, such as
cooking, dressing or bathing, to functional activities such as sports
and leisure without any adaptation. About 98 percent of those goals have
been met or surpassed, Dr. Herz says.
When Mrs. Bell started therapy in January, she was
dependent on her husband to walk, dress and get out of bed. She could
climb only one step on her own.
“Now she’s doing 24 steps without any difficulty,”
says Dr. Herz.
“I may need help putting my shirt and shoes on, but
I’m trying as hard as I can to do it myself,” Mrs. Bell says.
Editor’s Notes:
The study, funded by a $30,000 grant from the
National Parkinson’s Foundation, is a collaboration between the
Department of Occupational Therapy and MCG’s Movement Disorders Program.
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