The evidence stacks up for exercise

Recently I've been inspired by people with Parkinson's up and down the UK who are getting active.

Our local groups are doing everything from tai chi to tango, members are getting into Nintendo Wii, and people like former professional sportsman Ian Taylor are even hitting the headlines.

We've known exercise is good for us for decades. But over the last few weeks, research revealing the remarkable effect exercise has on our brains has been coming in thick and fast…

• Researchers at the University of Cambridge have found that mice who exercise do better in memory tests, and grow thousands more new brain cells compared to 'couch potato' mice.
  
  
• New US research shows that mice that ran 7.5km per day for 3 months were protected against toxic chemicals usually use to mimic Parkinson's.
  
  
• Research which combined 8 small studies of treadmill training for people with Parkinson's showed that the exercise significantly improved walking speed, stride length and walking distance.
  
  
• And finally, you can now watch videos from the SPRING exercise conference held last year - Michael Zigmond explains his groundbreaking studies and Alice Nieuwbower discusses exercise and Parkinson's

But we need more research to make sure we get the most from exercise. We don't yet know what types of exercise work best, how often and for how long people should train, or how long the benefits last.

I'm confident that research will answer these questions. In the meantime, I'm off to the gym…

Dr Kieran Breen is Director of Research and Development at the Parkinson's Disease Society