Vitamin D is a fat-soluble secosteroid, traditionally considered a key regulator of bone metabolism, calcium and phosphorous homeostasis. Its action is made possible through the binding to the vitamin D receptor (VDR), after which it directly and indirectly modulates the expression of thousands of genes. Vitamin D is important for brain development, mature brain activity and associated with many neurological diseases, including Parkinson’s disease (PD). High frequency of vitamin D deficiency in patients with Parkinson’s disease compared to control population was noted nearly twenty years ago. This finding is of interest given vitamin D’s neuroprotective effect, exerted by the action of neurotrophic factors, regulation of nerve growth or through protection against cytotoxicity. Vitamin D deficiency seems to be related to disease severity and disease progression, evaluated by Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and Hoehn and Yahr (H&Y) scale, but not with age of PD onset and duration of disease. Additionally, fall risk has been associated with lower vitamin D levels in PD. However, while the association between vitamin D and motor-symptoms seems to be possible, results of studies investigating the association with non-motor symptoms are conflicting. In addition, very little evidence exists regarding the possibility to use vitamin D supplementation to reduce clinical manifestations and disability in patients with PD. However, considering the positive balance between potential benefits against its limited risks, vitamin D supplementation for PD patients will probably be considered in the near future, if further confirmed in clinical studies.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor impairments and it is correlated with loss of bone mineral density. This study aimed to analyze the effects of resistance training on bone metabolism, systemic homeostasis, body composition, and physical performance in people with PD. Thirteen subjects (age 64.83 ± 5.70) with PD diagnosis were recruited. Participants performed neuromuscular tests, body composition assessment, and blood sample analysis at baseline, and after an 11 weeks-training period. Each training session lasted 90 min, three times a week. The participants had significant improvements in the timed up and go (p < 0.01), sit to stand (p < 0.01), dominant peg-board (p < 0.05), dominant foot-reaction time (p < 0.01), and functional reach tests (p < 0.05). They showed better pressure foot distributions in the left forefoot (p < 0.05) and hindfoot (p < 0.05) and increased cervical right lateral bending angle (p < 0.05). The protocol affects bone metabolism markers osteocalcin (p < 0.05), calcium (p < 0.01), PTH (p < 0.01), the C-terminal telopeptide (CTX) (p < 0.01), and vitamin D (p < 0.05). Eleven weeks of resistance training improved manual dexterity, static and dynamic balance, reaction time, cervical ROM, and reduced bone loss in people with PD.

Background: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the acute effects of resistance exercise (RE) leading to failure and RE that was not to failure on 24 h blood pressure (BP) and heart rate variability (HRV) in sedentary normotensive adult women. Methods: Ten women (33.2 ± 5.8 years; 159.3 ± 9.4 cm; 58.0 ±6.4 kg; body fat 28.4 ± 2.8%) randomly underwent three experimental sessions: control (40 minutes of seated rest), RE leading to failure with 3 sets of 10 repetitions maximum (10-RM), and RE not to failure at 60% of 10-RM with 3 sets of 10 repetitions. Immediately post session BP and HRV were measured for 24 h. Results: Ratings of perceived exertion and heart rate were higher during the 10-RM session when compared with 60% of 10-RM (6.4 ± 0.5 vs 3.5 ± 0.8 and 123.7 ± 13.9 vs 104.5 ± 7.3 bpm, respectively). The systolic, diastolic and mean BP decreased at 07:00 a.m. after the 10-RM session when compared with the control session (−9.0 ± 7.8 mmHg, -16.0 ± 12.9 mmHg and −14.3 ± 11.2 mmHg, respectively). The root mean square of the squared differences between R-R intervals decreased after both the 60% of 10-RM and 10-RM sessions compared with the control session. Conclusions: An acute RE session leading to failure induced a higher drop of BP upon awakening, while both RE sessions reduced cardiac parasympathetic modulation. RE may be an interesting training strategy to acutely decrease BP in adult women.

Introduction: Postural abnormalities are common in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and lead to gait abnormalities. Relationships between changes in the trunk posture of PD patients and gait profile score (GPS) and gait spatiotemporal parameters are poorly investigated. The aim of the current study was to investigate the relationships between trunk posture, GPS, and gait spatiotemporal parameters, in patients with PD. Materials and Methods: Twenty-three people with PD and nineteen age-matched healthy people participated in this study. A 3D gait kinematical analysis was applied to all participants using the Plug-In Gait Full Body^TM tool. Trunk and limb kinematics patterns and gait spatio-temporal parameters of patients with PD and the control group were compared. Additionally, correlations between trunk kinematics patterns, gait spatio-temporal parameters, and GPS of the PD group were tested. Results: Cadence, opposite foot off, step time, single support, double support, foot off, gait speed, trunk kinematics, and GPS showed significant differences between the two groups (p ≤ 0.05). Posture of the trunk during gait was not related to the spatio-temporal parameters and gait profile score in the PD group. The trunk flexor pattern influenced GPS domains, mainly of the ankle and the knee. Discussion and Conclusions: Flexed posture of the trunk in patients with PD seems to influence both ankle and knee movement patterns during the gait. The GPS analysis provided direct and simplified kinematic information for the PD group. These results may have implications for understanding the importance of considering the positioning of the trunk during gait.

Introduction: A decrease in postural control and proprioception is a common result of lower limb amputation. However, postural control adaptation in Paralympic sitting volleyball players with lower limb amputation is not yet understood. Objective: The purpose of this cross-sectional controlled study was to investigate static and dynamic postural control in sitting volleyball players with unilateral transfemoral amputation. Methods: Sixteen subjects participated in the study, eight of whom were amputees with unilateral transfemoral amputation (amputee group: age: 33.5 ± 5.6 years, weight: 77.7 ± 5.3 kg, height: 179.4 ± 5.3 cm) and eight physically active non-amputees (control group age: 27.2 ± 8.4 years, weight: 82.7 ± 6.6 kg, height: 178.7 ± 6.1 cm). Static and dynamic postural control was evaluated using the Neurocom® Balance Master System platform (Modified Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction on Balance, Limits of Stability, Rhythmic Weight Shift, Sit-to-Stand, Walk Across, and Step and Quick Turn). Statistical analyses were performed with the Shapiro-Wilk test, Levene's test, and Student's t-test for paired samples (p <0.05). Results: The amputee group demonstrated impaired postural control in all tests when compared to the control group (p <.05) for all postural tests except for the rhythmic change and sit-to-stand tests (p >.05). Conclusion: Despite training in sitting volleyball, our results demonstrated that amputees have poorer postural control in both static and dynamic tasks when compared to physically active non-amputees. Level of Evidence II; Prognostic Studies—Investigating the Effect of a Patient Characteristic on Disease Outcome / Retrospectivef Study.

Individuals with Parkinson's disease, besides the motor and cognitive symptoms may even present deficits in the motor learning. A recent therapeutic approach involves virtual reality that offers elements that can minimize the difficulties in the learning process. Recently, the therapeutic potential of Nintendo Wii^® gaming device for rehabilitation of patients with Parkinson's disease has been showing positive results, but studies related to the use of the Kinect for Xbox^TM are still scarce. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of motor and cognitive demands of six Kinect for Xbox 360^TM games on the learning of patients with Parkinson's disease, comparing it with healthy individuals. A total of 19 adults, 8 with idiopathic Parkinson's disease and 11 healthy adults participated in a program which included 10 training sessions and had their scores registered three times. The results showed that in four of those games, patients with Parkinson's disease showed an ability to improve and keep their performance, but not in the other two games, similar to healthy adults. It was concluded that motor and cognitive abilities affected by Parkinson's disease may be improved with the use of virtual training proposed in this study. Some of the games and gaming devices features can influence the learning process, even in healthy adults.