Newswise — This year’s ACSM World Congress on the Basic Science of Exercise in Regenrative Medicine focuses on the cutting-edge science in this rapidly developing field. Chaired by Marcas M. Bamman, Ph.D., FACSM, from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, this world congress brings together leading scientists in and outside of the exercise field to discuss advances in the field across a range of diseases and conditions. The programming schedule includes sessions on disease-specific foci across multiple levels of scientific inquiry (e.g., animal models, clinical trials, exercise-drug/device interactions, etc.).

Here is a selection of the research that will be presented by experts:

Can We Delay the Progression of the Signs of Parkinson's Disease? The Dose-Response SPARX3 Trial. The benefits of exercise for Parkinson's disease (PD) are well known, yet the optimal dose for efficacy is not known. Daniel Corcos, Ph.D., from Northwestern University, will present this keynote lecture and discuss the recently funded NIH clinical trial SPARX3, which will investigate the dose response of endurance exercise for people with PD. Topics will include: studies of exercise in animal models of PD, human studies of endurance exercise in PD, the multi-site study design of SPARX3, and potential mediators of exercise efficacy.

Neurodegenerative Disease II: Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia. The number of people affected by Alzheimer’s disease and neurodegenerative diseases continues to increase rapidly as our population ages. Increasing evidence suggests that exercise influences an individual’s risk of Alzheimer’s disease and may impact neurodegeneration. This session will explore mechanisms relating exercise with neuroplasticity, neuroinflammation and brain function, as well as explore how exercise may be a strategy to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s in healthy individuals and slow the disease in those affected. Presented by Zurine De Miguel, Ph.D., Stanford University; Constanza J. Cortes, Ph.D., University of Alabama at Birmingham; Henriette van Praag, Ph.D., Florida Atlantic University; Jeffrey Burns, M.D., M.S., University of Kansas Medical Center.

Regenerative Rehabilitation: Physical Medicine Meets Stem Cell Therapeutics. Regenerative medicine technologies have been shown to benefit from the application of targeted and specific mechanical stimuli, a mainstay of rehabilitation. Accordingly, physical therapeutics may be enhanced through cellular and other regenerative therapies. The integration of these two disciplines—known as Regenerative Rehabilitation—has the potential to improve the efficacy of interventions designed to optimize functional recovery after injury and in the setting of disease. Presented by Fabrisia Ambrosio, Ph.D., MPT, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Additional tutorials, symposia and poster sessions will cover topics like:

  • Cancer, stroke and cerebrovascular disease
  • Basic and translational science
  • Regenerative medicine and rehabilitation
  • Neurodegenerative diseases
  • Metabolic disease
  • Exercise and mitochondrial medicine
  • Cardiovascular aging and remodeling
  • Molecular discoveries

View the schedule for ACSM's World Congress on the Basic Science of Exercise in Regenerative or contact Lisa Ramage to connect with presenters.