Affiliations: Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
Note: [] Correspondence to: Christopher G. Goetz, MD, Department of Neurological Sciences, Section of Movement Disorders, Rush University Medical Center, 1725 W. Harrison St., Ste. 755, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. Tel.: +1 312 563 2900; Fax: +1 312 563 2024; E-mail: cgoetz@rush.edu
Abstract: The 19th century neurologist, J-M Charcot, used a vibration chair for treating Parkinson's disease (PD). He documented improvement, but few subsequent studies examined vibration treatment. Using a specialized lounge chair, we conducted a rater blinded, randomized trial of body vibration vs. no vibration in 23 PD patients. The primary outcome measure was change from baseline in the motor section of the MDS-UPDRS. Both vibration and no vibration groups significantly improved after one month of daily treatments. However, there was no significant difference between the two treatment groups, suggesting that non-specific or placebo factors had an effect on PD motor function.
