Improve Parkinson’s Disease with Mindfulness
By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.
“A practical and powerful way to reduce stress is to become more mindful which, simply put, means being present in the moment rather than agonizing over the past or anticipating the future. Once stress levels are well under control, symptoms of Parkinson’s will have enormous difficulty presenting themselves. When people experience stress, their symptoms get much worse. When stress levels are under control, symptoms subside.” – Robert Rogers
Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is an incurable progressive degenerative disease of the central nervous system. The condition is caused by the death of nerve cells in the brain that produce the neurotransmitter dopamine. There are around seven million people worldwide and one million people in the U.S. living with PD and about 60,000 people are diagnosed with PD every year. PD is associated with aging as the vast majority of patients are diagnosed after age 50. In fact, it has been speculated that everyone would eventually develop PD if they lived long enough.
Its physical symptoms include resting tremor, slow movements, muscle rigidity, problems with posture and balance, loss of automatic movements, and slurring of speech. PD itself is not fatal but is often associated with related complications which can reduce life expectancy, such as falls, choking, and cardiovascular problems. Parkinson’s Disease (PD) also has psychological effects, especially anxiety and depression. All of these symptoms result in a marked reduction in the quality of life.
Mindfulness training has been found to improve the psychological symptoms and the quality of life with PD patients. In addition, stress is known to exacerbate the symptoms of PD. So, it would make sense that Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), a mindfulness training that was developed specifically for stress reduction, would be effective for relieving some of the symptoms of PD. In today’s Research News article “Mindfulness-based stress reduction in Parkinson’s disease: a systematic review.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5433018/, McLean and colleagues review the published research literature on the effectiveness of an 8-week program of MBSR for patients with PD.
As it turns out, the research is sparse. They were only able to identify 3 published articles which described 2 controlled trials, both of small size and with non-active control groups. The studies reported that MBSR participants, in comparison to controls, had improved motor ability, mindfulness, and quality of life with PD, and decreases in depression. One study found potentially beneficial changes in the patients’ brains in the MBSR group.
The scarce published research to date is promising and suggests that MBSR may be a beneficial treatment for patients with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) producing improvements in motor ability, psychological well-being, and quality of life. There is obviously a need for larger and better controlled trials. But, the research suggests that such research is warranted. Mindfulness training may be helpful in easing some of the symptom burden that plagues PD sufferers.
So, improve Parkinson’s disease with mindfulness.
“Mindfulness training, as taught by qualified and experienced teachers, may offer a more participatory medicine, empowering the individual by engagement to learn how to strengthen internal resources to help cope with chronic disease. Mindfulness training may help to restore some degree of self-determination in the experience of living with PD.” – Margaret Tuchman
CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies
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Study Summary
McLean, G., Lawrence, M., Simpson, R., & Mercer, S. W. (2017). Mindfulness-based stress reduction in Parkinson’s disease: a systematic review. BMC Neurology, 17, 92. http://doi.org/10.1186/s12883-017-0876-4
Abstract
Background
Mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) is increasingly being used to improve outcomes such as stress and depression in a range of long-term conditions (LTCs). While systematic reviews on MBSR have taken place for a number of conditions there remains limited information on its impact on individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD).
Methods
Medline, Central, Embase, Amed, CINAHAL were searched in March 2016. These databases were searched using a combination of MeSH subject headings where available and keywords in the title and abstracts. We also searched the reference lists of related reviews. Study quality was assessed based on questions from the Cochrane Collaboration risk of bias tool.
Results
Two interventions and three papers with a total of 66 participants were included. The interventions were undertaken in Belgium (n = 27) and the USA (n = 39). One study reported significantly increased grey matter density (GMD) in the brains of the MBSR group compared to the usual care group. Significant improvements were reported in one study for a number of outcomes including PD outcomes, depression, mindfulness, and quality of life indicators. Only one intervention was of reasonable quality and both interventions failed to control for potential confounders in the analysis. Adverse events and reasons for drop-outs were not reported. There was also no reporting on the costs/benefits of the intervention or how they affected health service utilisation.
Conclusion
This systematic review found limited and inconclusive evidence of the effectiveness of MBSR for PD patients. Both of the included interventions claimed positive effects for PD patients but significant outcomes were often contradicted by other results. Further trials with larger sample sizes, control groups and longer follow-ups are needed before the evidence for MBSR in PD can be conclusively judged.