A Single Session of Whole-Body Electromyostimulation Increases Muscle Strength, Endurance and proNGF in Early Parkinson Patients

Parkinson's disease (PD) patients lead a sedentary lifestyle, being unable or unwillingto exercise conventionally, due to physical and mental limitations. The aim of this study was toassess the acute effects of a single session of whole-body electromyostimulation (WB-EMS) on thephysical performances and serum levels of the neurotrophic factors in PD patients. Ten subjects (aged72.60 ± 6.82) underwent 20 min of physical activity with superimposed WB-EMS and, after fourweeks, the same protocol with no WB-EMS. WB-EMS was conducted with intermittent stimulation,with 4 s WB-EMS/4 s rest, at 85 Hz, 350 µs. A physical fitness assessment and blood samplescollection, to evaluate neurotrophic factors' levels (BDNF, FGF21, proNGF, mNGF), were collectedbefore and after the intervention. The RM-ANOVA showed significant improvements in sit-to-stand(p < 0.01), arm curl (p < 0.01), handgrip (p < 0.01) and soda pop test (p < 0.01) after the WB-EMSintervention. Higher proNFG serum levels were observed in the WB-EMS condition compared tothe no WB-EMS after 60 min post-intervention (p = 0.0163). The effect of WB-EMS confirmed theelectrostimulation ability to modulate the proNGF quantity. The positive impact of the WB-EMSprotocol on physical functioning, and eye-hand coordination, makes this intervention a promisingstrategy to improve motor and non-motor symptoms in PD patients