{"80931":{"#nid":"80931","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Professor Pedals Across Iowa to Test Benefits on Parkinson\u0027s Disease","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThis year, the world will be watching cyclist Lance Armstrong as he attempts to capture a sixth Tour de France.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis year\u0027s Pedaling for Parkinson\u0027s cycling team will be equally absorbed in the performance of its star team members, two Parkinson\u0027s disease patients from Atlanta, GA and San Jose, CA, as they make a 490-mile journey across Iowa, July 25-31, 2004 as part of the Register\u0027s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI).\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EUnlike Armstrong\u0027s team, the Pedaling for Parkinson\u0027s team will monitor patients\u0027 performance with force transducers and a digitizer to determine the effects of exercise on the symptoms of the disease.   \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ELast year, Parkinson\u0027s patient Cathy Frazier tackled the ride on a tandem bike, riding with her husband,Atlanta cycling coach Ralph Frazier, and Jay Alberts, a Georgia Tech professor of applied physiology specializing in Parkinson\u0027s research. After 464 miles, she and her Pedaling for Parkinson\u0027s team found they had not only spread the word about the disease, but also may have discovered a relationship between pedaling at a higher cadence and priming\/driving the central nervous system of the Parkinson\u0027s patient. At the end of the ride, Frazier could write more clearly for one week.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis year, Alberts will scientifically test the symptoms of Frazier and new member Jim Wetherell to determine if the ride does indeed have a positive effect.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Our goal is to motivate other Parkinson\u0027s patients that it is possible to lead an active lifestyle even with the disease,\u0022 said Alberts.  \u0022Halfway through last year\u0027s ride, Cathy\u0027s symptoms were visibly improved.  This year we plan to quantify motor performance to determine what movement parameters change as a result of this week of exercise.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETypically, a Parkinson\u0027s patient riding a bike maintains a cadence of around 50-60 revoultions-per-minute.  However, a non-Parkinson\u0027s captain on a tandem bike can drive that cadence to over 90 RPMs.  Pedaling at a higher cadence may prime or drive the central nervous system of the Parkinson\u0027s patient.  A driving of the system may result in an increase in the release of dopamine (a neurotransmitter that is lower than normal in Parkinson\u0027s) that in turn could account for the improved motor symptoms.  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Cycling is my way of showing Parkinson\u0027s disease it can\u0027t beat me,\u0022 said Frazier who was diagnosed six years ago with the disease at the age of 43.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFrazier and 22 other team members will carry that message across Iowa this month with Pedaling for Parkinson\u0027s, a nonprofit dedicated to revitalizing patients and educating the public about the benefits of staying active after a diagnosis.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I was told to give up cycling because Parkinson\u0027s was taking away my ability to balance,\u0022 said Wetherell.  \u0022But with my love for cycling and a fear of my future, I made the decision to add a wheel rather than selling two, I bought a recumbent trike. That was five years and more than 30,000 miles ago.\u0022 \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The data we gather will allow us to determine if the increase in pedaling rate leads to changes in motor functioning over a week of intense exercise,\u0022 said Alberts, who is looking forward to the week on the bike.  \u0022Plus, we\u0027ll be passing at least 250 pie and ice cream stands.  Who can refuse?\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"Professor and patients ride 490 miles to test cycling\u0027s effect on symptoms.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27304","created_gmt":"2004-07-21 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:01:58","author":"Matthew Nagel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2004-07-16T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2004-07-16T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"80941":{"id":"80941","type":"image","title":"Cathy Frazier and Jay Alberts","body":null,"created":"1449178079","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:27:59","changed":"1475894696","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:44:56"}},"media_ids":["80941"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.ragbrai.com\/","title":"RAGBRAI"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.fraziercycling.com\/","title":"Frazier Cycling"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.apdaparkinson.org\/","title":"American Parksinson\u0027s Disease Association"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELaura Diamond\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elaura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-894-6016\u003Cbr \/\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-660-2926\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["david.terraso@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}