19th Century Therapy for Parkinson's Disease May Help Patients Today

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120419132606.htm 
   In the 19th century there was a man named Jean-Martin Charcot who created a vibrating chair to ease symptoms of Parkinson's Disease.  There were reports on improvement in patients and other neurological researchers today are experimenting with this type of therapy.  Twenty three patients were randomly assigned to a vibrating chair or the same chair but without the vibrations.  During the time spent in these chairs, both groups of patients listened to relaxing nature sounds.  After a month of these treatments, the patients in the vibrating chair had major improvement in motor function and the patients in the non-vibrating chair also improved a lot in motor function, but not as much as the first group.  Both groups showed a big and similar improvement in anxiety, depression, fatigue, and nighttime sleep.  In conclusion, the researchers confirmed Charcot's observation that the vibrating chair relieves symptoms of Parkinson's Disease, but they did not find the effects of this treatment specific to the vibration.  Auditory sensory stimulation while relaxing in a lounge chair or just by being a part of this research protocol had equivalent beneficial effects as the vibration and improvement in motor function.
   This article connects to the topics learned about in term four by discussing Parkinson's Disease.  Information about this disease was presented to the class and how it affects the nervous system of the body.  Treatments for Parkinson's were also discussed and this article ties into that by talking about a "new", or revisited, treatment that is promising to be effective in relieving the symptoms of Parkinson's Disease.  

Rush University Medical Center. "19th century therapy for Parkinson's disease may help patients today." ScienceDaily, 19 Apr. 2012. Web. 3 May 2012.