OBJECTIVE: To determine the impact of aerobic exercise on maximal and submaximal cardiopulmonary responses and predictors of change in individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD). DESIGN: Single-center, parallel-group, rater-blind study. SETTING: Research laboratory PARTICIPANTS: Individual's with mild to moderate PD (N = 100) INTERVENTION: Participants were enrolled in a trial evaluating the impact of cycling on PD and randomized to either voluntary exercise (VE), forced exercise (FE), or a no exercise, control group. The exercise groups were time and intensity matched and exercised 3x/week for eight weeks on a stationary cycle. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Cardiopulmonary responses were collected via gas analysis during a maximal graded exercise test at baseline and post intervention. RESULTS: Exercise attendance, was 97% and 93% for the FE and VE group respectively. Average exercise HR reserve was 67% +/- 11% for FE and 70% +/- 10% for VE. No significant difference was present for change in VO2peak post intervention, even though the FE group had a 5% increase in VO2peak. Both the FE and VE groups had significantly higher %VO2 at VT then the control group compared to baseline values (p = 0.04). Mean (95% CI) VO2 at VT was 5% (0.1%, 11%) higher in FE patients (p = 0.04) and 7% (2%, 12%) higher in VE groups compared to controls. A stepwise linear regression model revealed that lower age, high exercise cadence, and lower baseline VO2peak were most predictive of improved VO2peak. The overall model was found to be significant, (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Peak and submaximal cardiopulmonary function may improve after aerobic exercise in individuals with PD. Lower age, higher exercise cadence, and lower baseline VO2peak were most predictive of improved VO2peak in this exercise cohort. The improvements observed in aerobic capacity were gained after a relatively short aerobic cycling intervention.

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