Does Parkinson's disease affect peripheral circulation and vascular function in physically active patients?

Previous studies demonstrated that aging, neurodegeneration, and the level of physical activity are associated with vascular alterations. However, in Parkinson's disease (PD) only cerebral vascular function has been investigated; instead, the contribution of PD on systemic vascular function and skeletal muscle circulation remains a matter of debate. In this study, the hyperemic response during the single passive leg movement test (sPLM), largely nitric oxide dependent, was examined at the level of the common femoral artery with an ultrasound Doppler system to assess systemic vascular function in 10 subjects with PD (PDG), compared with 10 aged-sex and physically active matched healthy elderly (EHG), and 10 physically active young healthy individuals (YHG). Interestingly, femoral blood flow at rest, normalized for the thigh volume, was similar in PDG (64 ± 15 mL·min-1·L-1), EHG (44 ± 8 mL·min-1·L-1), and YHG (58 ± 11 mL·min-1·L-1, all P values > 0.05). The sPLM-induced hyperemic response appeared markedly lower in PDG and EHG compared with YHG (8.3 ± 0.1 vs. 9.8 ± 0.8 vs. 17.3 ± 3.0 mL·min-1·L-1; P < 0.05) but the difference between PDG and EHG was negligible (P > 0.05). The results of our study indicate that peripheral circulation and vascular function are not reduced in physically active patients with PD, suggesting that these vascular changes could resemble the physiological adjustments of aging, without any impact from the disease.NOTE & NOTEWORTHY Our study verified an intact peripheral circulation in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). However, using the single passive leg movement, we observed a similar reduction of the vascular integrity in physically active patients and matched elderly, compared with young, likely induced by aging but independent on the pathology. This comparable effect confirmed that the disease, at early stage, with a dynamic lifestyle does not worsen the vascular system but reveals the cardinal symptoms of PD.

The key role of physical activity against the neuromuscular deterioration in patients with Parkinson's disease.

AIM: Decreased muscle strength has been frequently observed in individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD). However, this condition is still poorly examined in physically active patients. This study compared quadriceps (Q) maximal force and the contribution of central and peripheral components of force production during a maximal isometric task between physically active PD and healthy individuals. In addition, the correlation between force determinants and energy expenditure indices were investigated. METHODS: Maximal voluntary contraction (MVC), resting twitch (RT) force, pennation angle (θp), physiological cross-sectional area (PCSA) and Q volume were assessed in 10 physically active PD and 10 healthy control (CTRL) individuals matched for age, sex and daily energy expenditure (DEE) profile. RESULTS: No significant differences were observed between PD and CTRL in MVC (142 ± 85; 142 ± 47 N m), Q volume (1469 ± 379; 1466 ± 522 cm3 ), PCSA (206 ± 54; 205 ± 71 cm2 ), θp (14 ± 7; 13 ± 3 rad) and voluntary muscle-specific torque (MVC/PCSA [67 ± 35; 66 ± 19 N m cm-2 ]). Daily calories and MVC correlated (r = 0.56, P = .0099). However, PD displayed lower maximal voluntary activation (MVA) (85 ± 7; 95 ± 5%), rate of torque development (RTD) in the 0-0.05 (110 ± 70; 447 ± 461 N m s-1 ) and the 0.05-0.1 s (156 ± 135; 437 ± 371 N m s-1 ) epochs of MVCs, whereas RT normalized for PCSA was higher (35 ± 14; 20 ± 6 N m cm-2 ). CONCLUSION: Physically active PDs show a preserved strength of the lower limb. This resulted by increasing skeletal muscle contractility, which counterbalances neuromuscular deterioration, likely due to their moderate level of physical activity.