title: Aerobic exercise for Parkinson's disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although some trials assessed the effectiveness of aerobic exercise for Parkinson's disease (PD), the role of aerobic exercise in the management of PD remained controversial.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this systematic review is to evaluate the evidence about whether aerobic exercise is effective for PD.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seven electronic databases, up to December 2013, were searched to identify relevant studies. Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed methodological quality based on PEDro scale. Standardised mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of random-effects model were calculated. And heterogeneity was assessed based on the I2 statistic.
  
  
  RESULTS
  18 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with 901 patients were eligible. The aggregated results suggested that aerobic exercise should show superior effects in improving motor actions (SMD, -0.57; 95% CI -0.94 to -0.19; p = 0.003), balance (SMD, 2.02; 95% CI 0.45 to 3.59; p = 0.01), and gait (SMD, 0.33; 95% CI 0.17 to 0.49; p<0.0001) in patients with PD, but not in quality of life (SMD, 0.11; 95% CI -0.23 to 0.46; p = 0.52). And there was no valid evidence on follow-up effects of aerobic exercise for PD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Aerobic exercise showed immediate beneficial effects in improving motor action, balance, and gait in patients with PD. However, given no evidence on follow-up effects, large-scale RCTs with long follow-up are warrant to confirm the current findings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, General Hospital of the People's Liberation Army Chengdu Military Region, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Hai-Feng
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Shu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, General Hospital of the People's Liberation Army Chengdu Military Region, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, General Hospital of the People's Liberation Army Chengdu Military Region, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Si-Xun
authors.initials: SX
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, General Hospital of the People's Liberation Army Chengdu Military Region, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Hai-Dong
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, General Hospital of the People's Liberation Army Chengdu Military Region, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Ling-Li
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, General Hospital of the People's Liberation Army Chengdu Military Region, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Jian-Wen
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, General Hospital of the People's Liberation Army Chengdu Military Region, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Yong-Qin
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Kuang
mesh_terms: D000725:Andorra; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D004856:Postural Balance