The Effects of Adapted Tango on Spatial Cognition and Disease Severity in Parkinson's Disease

The authors determined effects of community-based adapted tango on spatial cognition and disease severity in Parkinson's disease (PD) while controlling for the effects of social interaction. Thirty-three individuals with mild-to-moderate PD (stage I-III) were assigned to twenty 90-min tango (n = 24) or education (n = 9) lessons over 12 weeks. Disease severity, spatial cognition, balance, and fall incidence were evaluated pre-, post-, and 10-12 weeks postintervention. The authors evaluated differences using t tests and analyses of variance. Twenty-three tango and 8 education participants finished. Tango participants improved on disease severity (p = .008), and spatial cognition (p = .021) compared with education participants. Tango participants also improved in balance (p = .038), and executive function (p = .012). Gains were maintained 10-12 weeks postintervention. Multimodal exercise with structured syllabi may improve disease severity and spatial cognition in PD.