Effects of physical exercise programs on cognitive function in Parkinson's disease patients: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials of the last 10 years.

BACKGROUND: Given the relative importance of cognitive impairment, there was considerable interest in identifying the cognitive profile of PD patients, in order to ensure specific and appropriate therapeutic interventions. PURPOSE: To determine the effects of physical exercise programs on cognitive function in PD patients, compared with the control group. DATA SOURCES: Medline, Cochrane, Scopus, PEDro and Web of Science (last searched in September 2016). STUDY SELECTION: Randomized clinical trials examining the effects of physical exercise programs and cognitive function in PD patients. Nine studies fulfilled the selection criteria and were included in this review. DATA EXTRACTION: Characteristics of the publication, characteristics of the participants, test used for cognitive screening, cognitive domain assessed, tools used to assess cognitive function, characteristics of the experimental intervention, characteristics of the control group, mean results and standard deviation of function cognitive. The PEDro score was used to evaluate methodological quality. DATA SYNTHESIS: Most eligible studies showed good methodological quality based on the PEDro scale. Studies have shown that adapted tango for PD patients, cognitive training combined with motor training, and treadmill training promote the preservation or improvement of cognitive function in PD patients. LIMITATIONS: The diversity of cognitive tests used to assess cognitive function and the high heterogeneity identified between the physical exercise programs. CONCLUSIONS: Physical exercise programs promote positive and significant effects on global cognitive function, processing speed, sustained attention and mental flexibility in PD patients, at a mild to moderate stage for patients with a 6-year clinical diagnosis of PD. However, treadmill training performed 3 times a week for about 60 minutes and for a period of 24 weeks produced larger improvements in cognition.

microRNAs involved in Parkinson's disease: A systematic review.

The aim of the present study was to determine the expression of blood microRNAs (miRNAs) involved in PD in humans. For this purpose the following electronic databases were selected: MEDLINE by Pubmed, Scopus and Web of Science. The search strategy included the proposed descriptors in the Medical Subject Headings. There were no restrictions with respect to the language of the publication. In the study selection two independent reviewers initially evaluated studies that were identified by the search strategy according to titles and abstracts. The reviewers evaluated (also unassisted) the complete articles and selected studies according to the eligibility criteria specified above. Studies that were not in accordance with the adopted criteria were excluded according to the boundaries imposed by the search strategy. The following data were extracted from the selected studies: Publication identification, location where the study was conducted, study design, the sample size, the participants' characteristics, the miRNAs involved in PD, the miRNA detection and analysis method, and the type of miRNA dysregulation in PD. Through this systematic review of the literature published over the last 10 years, the expression of 91 different miRNAs were analyzed in the context of PD, with the expression of 39 of these miRNAs differing significantly between individuals with PD and healthy controls and/or between treated and untreated patients with PD. The miRNAs were extracted from mononuclear cells, leukocytes, plasma, serum and peripheral blood, and the majority of the studies used reverse transcription­quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), which is considered to be the gold standard for miRNA analysis.