And so you are asking "How did I get roped into this?"

Davis Phinney Foundation Funded Research

Dr. Jay Alberts of the Cleveland Clinic and Drs. Bas Bloem and Marten Munneke from the UMC St. Radboud, Nijmegen, the Netherlands for the proposed grant: Brain training: Effects of Aerobic Exercise of Cognitive and Adaptive Plasticity in Parkinson’s Disease.

This study will examine the effects of exercise on cognitive and motor functioning in a group of newly diagnosed individuals with Parkinson’s disease. Participants in this project will exercise on a stationary exercise bicycle in their home that is linked to study coordinators. The overall goal of this project is to assess whether exercise is capable of potentially slowing the progression of Parkinson’s disease in patients who have not yet been treated with anti-parkinsonian medications. This study represents a preliminary project that will provide valuable pilot data for the submission of a larger multi-site randomized clinical trial.

Jay Alberts....does that name ring a bell? You might remember from my 'profile' that Jay is the leader of our cycling group going to Iowa. I met Jay over a year ago when I was one of the lucky PD patients who not only was selected to be in the forced-exercise arm of one of his earlier studies BUT was even luckier when the first time I drew my lot, I got the ever so exciting CONTROL GROUP.  Well, I guess someone has to do it. I stuck around doing nothing so that I would have the chance to see if his theory regarding high frequency/low resistance cycling held true for me. Truth is...I felt so good during my weeks on the bike that I actually was able to decrease some of my medication! 

As it turns out, Jay is an avid cyclist AND he hails from the hopefully very flat state of Iowa. Jay is no stranger to RAGBRAI (next post) and so why not take 65 people (9 with PD) on a 500 mile bike ride across his state?  We might even get to meet some of his neighbors. Some might say he is crazy but I would tell you that this is a man dedicated to finding answers for the nine of us and many others.  For his efforts, the money I raise during this seemingly ridiculous task will go to The Davis Phinney Foundation for Parkinson's research which funds some of Jay's research.

Tomorrow, a bit about RAGBRAI and the ladies with the pie.