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This note is in response to Don Biggs who, on Wed Jan 25, 1995, asked if "exercise will help hold back some of the symptoms from progressing as fast." The only information I have on this comes from a Japanese study on physical activity level and mortality in persons with PD. The authors followed patients who were either sedentary or those who exercised for an extended period of time. In a nut-shell: Those who exercised remained independent longer than persons who remained sedentary and persons who exercised outlived persons who had a low physical activity level or were sedentary. What kind of exercise would be best? We are conducting experiments at the Florida State University on the benefits of a variety of exercise programs for PD. It seems very much like in healthy adults, exercise has much the same effect on some of the cardinal signs and symptoms in PD. For example, persons with PD often have problems with their equilibrium. Balance and strength training can lead to a significant reduction in falling in persons with PD. A significant number of data points to a high correlation between a persons physical activity level and their ability to stay independent and autonomous. Even at an age of 84 it is not too late to start strength and balance training. Mark Hirsch ([log in to unmask]) --