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Wii Boosts Parkinson's Treatments
mmmscience writes "Scientists are investigating the use of Wii Sports as a form of treatment for Parkinson's sufferers. After a four-week study, researchers found that rounds of tennis, bowling, and boxing improved rigidity, movement, fine motor skills, and energy levels as well as decreasing the occurrence of depression. It is thought that combining exercise with video games helps to increase levels of dopamine, a chemical that is deficient in Parkinson's. The therapy is gaining notoriety under the name Wii-hab."
In other news: Exercise is good for you. No matter how flimsy the method you use.
So basically, -1 troll/offtopic is really slashdots way of saying "I hate that you thought of something before me."
Ah yes, "This is bunk" states known Parkinson's expert and physiology sage jshackles.
Before you call it bunk... do you know what causes Parkinson's? Do you know what neurotransmitter abnormality causes Parkinson's symptoms?
Do you know what neurotransmitters are the mediators of the response we know as "feeling of accomplishment"?
Do you know how video games stimulate that response?
Do you know, even discounting the neurotransmitter impact, how exercise via the Wii differs from other "standard" methods of exercise, and how this might specifically be of use to Parkinson's sufferers? Do you know if using a Wii for fine motor control exercise has a higher percentage of participants actually sticking to their rehabilitation schedules than traditional methods?
In short... you call it bunk... but it seems VERY clear to me that (1) you don't know much about the subject and (2) you didn't bother researching it at all before decrying it.
Even if this study was bunk, your refutation of it is even worse... at least they bothered to collect data before making any kind of conclusion.
"Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
Um, yes, there are things that treat Parkinson's and the summary is a bit misleading. Probably not intentionally because it is easier to chalk it up to stupidity than being maliciously misleading.
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Dr. Ben Hertz, a director of Occupational Therapy at MCG, explained that "participants showed significant improvements in rigidity, movement, fine motor skills and energy levels. Perhaps most impressively, most participants' depression levels decreased to zero." [MCG] Depression is a major impact factor in Parkinson's, with at least half of the patients reporting the mental illness.
No neurological studies have been done to solidify the reasons behind the improvement. However, Hertz believes that the combination of exercise and video games helps boost dopamine levels, a neurotransmitter that is severely deficient in Parkinson's disease. That is the motivation behind using the Wii over another video game system; Wii requires whole-body movement instead of the simple isolated finger movements on a traditional controller.
While we only have a correlation here and no direct link, I actually think the researchers may be onto something. The reason why this is more than old news is not the physical activity, but the emotional and mental components.
Playing sports for real requires lifting the appropriate equipment, and learning the skill. Wii Sports is simpler, and simply requires basic motions. The remote is also much lighter and easier to handle.
The time invested learning vs the return in enjoyment ramps up faster and if you are a depressed parkinson's patient, being able to easily do a little exercise with a simple little console can emotionally be a big deal. I do not have parkinson's, but I've tried learning tennis and it's a pain in the ass to me, but I enjoy a little wii tennis from time to time with my niece.
And finally, playing a computer game is still novel. Most patients are going to look at something like this and it will be enjoyable. It's not some uber FPS or strategy game where they have to learn 20 combos. They swing a remote and have a little fun with their friends.
The physical activity has always been important, but other consoles don't give you physical interaction, you mash buttons. If you are a parkinson's patient and you can feel like you are doing something, you are not only getting a physical component, but a much needed mental and emotional component.
"All great wisdom is contained in .signature files"
Yes. Administering Levodopa (a dopamine precurser) actually "treats Parkinson's" because it replaces the dopamine that is lost in the brain. However, people build a tolerance to the drug. We don't have anything at the moment that cures Parkinson's disease, although there is promise with stem cell treatments. We don't even know what causes the loss of the substantia nigra cells (where dopamine is largely produced) in the first place.
than seeing a hot chick, taking in her attractiveness
and then she brings a cigarette to her mouth
instant killjoy
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
I can attest to this fact. As someone who hadn't intentionally exercised for more than about 5 days out of the last 5 years, I just started exercising after buying a Wii Fit recently. Laugh all you want, but I've already shed a few pounds, and I figure that there's no point in arguing with results, regardless of how embarrassing it is.