Award Date

5-15-2026

Degree Type

Doctoral Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)

Department

Physical Therapy

First Committee Member

Merrill R. Landers

Second Committee Member

Daniel Young

Third Committee Member

Kai-Yu Ho

Number of Pages

56

Abstract

Regular exercise and physical therapy are known to increase production of neurotrophins, including brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and anti-inflammatory cytokines. These changes combine to theoretically protect and slow the progressive loss of neurons in Parkinson’s disease (PD). The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of exercise and physical activity on various anti-inflammatory and pro-inflammatory cytokines and neurotrophins in people with PD (PwP). This was a cross-sectional design involving PwP (n=37), aged 43-85 years, who participated in two 30-minute bouts of exercise (with brief rest breaks during and pre/post blood draws) separated by a week. Measures collected prior to aerobic activity included the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, International Physical Activity Questionnaire short form, Movement Disorders Society Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale section III, the miniBESTest, Timed Up and Go, TUG Cognitive test, and modified Fear of Falling Avoidance Behavior Questionnaire. PwP wore an ActivPal to track activity levels between sessions. Pearson’s correlation coefficients and hierarchical linear regression were used to analyze the correlation and relationship between exercise levels and objective measures with BNDF and cytokine production. In the final model, after physical activity variables and activity monitory data were included, greater self-reported walking minutes per week was a significant positive predictor of BDNF (β = .688, p < .001), as was time spent sitting and total lying time. After excluding those with dementia (n=27), only walking was statistically significant (β = .663, p = .004). Increased walking was associated with a positive effect on BDNF and certain anti-inflammatory cytokine production. Sedentary behavior (sitting and lying) was associated with a negative effect on BDNF and certain pro-inflammatory cytokines in PwP. Based on these results, physical therapists should encourage regular walking and decreased sedentary behavior to maximize BDNF production.

Keywords

Disease modifying; BDNF; VEGF; IL10; IL6; CRP; TNF alpha

Disciplines

Exercise Science | Neurosciences | Physical Therapy

File Format

PDF

File Size

1060 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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