{"582119":{"#nid":"582119","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Research Shows Adapted Tango Program Alters Balance Control in Parkinson\u0027s Disease Patients","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EResearchers from Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology have found that balance responses in people with Parkinson\u0026#39;s disease (PD) are altered after a three-week Adapted Tango dance rehabilitation program. The study, published in the October issue of the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/journals.lww.com\/jnpt\/Abstract\/2016\/10000\/Balance,_Body_Motion,_and_Muscle_Activity_After.7.aspx\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EJournal of Neurologic Physical Therapy\u003C\/a\u003E, also show that the three\u0026ndash;week program may be as effective as longer programs with similar amounts of class time. A video abstract is available on the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/download.lww.com\/wolterskluwer_vitalstream_com\/PermaLink\/JNPT\/A\/JNPT_40_4_2016_07_26_MCKAY_JNPT-D-15-00022R5_SDC1.m4v\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ejournal website\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026quot;Balance and gait speed of participants showed improvements that lasted for at least one month after the program ended,\u0026quot; says Madeleine Hackney, PhD, assistant professor in the Emory University department of medicine and research scientist at the Atlanta VA Center for Visual and Neurocognitive Rehabilitation.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe authors tested participants in a laboratory with a custom-designed moving floor to see whether involuntary balance functions also improved after the program.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026quot;We simulated slips using the moving floor to show that rehabilitative dance can change how the nervous system uses sensory information and muscles during balance,\u0026quot; says Lena Ting, PhD, professor of rehabilitation medicine at Emory University and professor of biomedical engineering at Emory and Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026quot;While the study sample was small and did not include an untreated control group, it provides evidence that even a short intervention may benefit balance functions performed by deep parts of the brain and spinal cord,\u0026quot; says J. Lucas McKay, PhD, MSCR, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Emory and Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe study was supported in part by NIH R21 HD075612-01, NSF EFRI 1137229, Tango Under the Tent, Inc., and by the Emory Udall Center. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEmory Contact:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nRobin Reese\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n404-727-9371\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nrobin.j.reese@emory.edu\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:wrich@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EWalter Rich\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCommunications Manager\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nWallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Rehabilitative dance can change how the nervous system uses sensory information and muscles during balance"}],"uid":"27513","created_gmt":"2016-10-04 20:15:35","changed_gmt":"2016-10-04 20:19:39","author":"Walter Rich","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-10-04T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2016-10-04T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"582118":{"id":"582118","type":"image","title":"Adapted Tango Program","body":null,"created":"1475611461","gmt_created":"2016-10-04 20:04:21","changed":"1475611461","gmt_changed":"2016-10-04 20:04:21","alt":"","file":{"fid":"221896","name":"adapted tango class SIZED-edited.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/adapted%20tango%20class%20SIZED-edited.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/adapted%20tango%20class%20SIZED-edited.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":190146,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/adapted%20tango%20class%20SIZED-edited.jpg?itok=iB8wORTj"}}},"media_ids":["582118"],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1612","name":"BME"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMedia Contact:\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWalter Rich\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCommunications Manager\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nWallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["wrich@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}