“Amazonian Dance for Parkinson”: a protocol study for a randomised clinical trial on motor and non-motor symptoms of people with Parkinson’s

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Introduction: Non-pharmacological treatments combined with pharmacological are important strategies to improve Parkinson’s disease (PD) symptoms and provide better well-being and quality of life. Among non-pharmacological treatment options, dancing has been shown to be a safe and viable activity. Objective: To describe a 12-week Amazonian dance protocol, called "Amazonian Dance for Parkinson", for a single-blind multicentre randomised controlled trial to evaluate its effects on motor and non-motor symptoms in people with PD with different racial characteristics and socioeconomic status. Methods: The participants will be randomised by region (South and North), into four groups: Amazonian Dance South (n=20), and Amazonian Dance North (n=20), who will participate in a 12-week Amazonian dance intervention; and Control Group South (CGS=20) and Control Group North (CGN=20), that will not alter their personal lifestyle over the same 12-week period. The Amazonian Dance protocol will be divided into 4 parts: part 1 (10-15 min.), sitting in the chair, welcome and warm-up; part 2 (10-15 min.), with the support of the ballet barre or chair; part 3 (25-30 min.), main part with improvisation and choreographic process; part 4 (5-10 min.), cool down. The primary outcome will be cognition, assessed in using traditional pen-and-paper tests (MoCA - Montreal Cognitive Assessment) and using digital technology (Tablet-based Cognitive Assessment - Tab-CAT). The secondary outcomes will be language, depression, anxiety, quality of life, levels of hope, and motor symptoms (functional mobility, fear of falling, and freezing of gait). Measurements of study outcomes will be carried out: pre- and post- intervention, and follow-up (one month after the end of the intervention). Conclusions: We hypothesise that the Amazonian dance protocol will be effective to improve cognition, specifically executive function, and motor symptoms in PwPD. Despite being a protocol based on Brazilian Amazonian dances, has a format and sequence that can be adapt and replicate in other realities. It will be a tool for data collection and research in dance and health area, and can be used by arts and health professionals and researchers who use dance as a non-pharmacological intervention for PD.

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