Studies show the benefit of exercise for those who suffer from respiratory diseases

Researchers from USP and UofT show that the more severe the constriction is, the better recovery is in patients treated with physical therapy.

One of the initial findings of the cooperation agreement between FAPESP and the Universities of Toronto and Western Ontario is the joint project that is underway by the teams of Celso Ricardo Fernandes Carvalho from the School of Medicine at the University of São Paulo (USP) and Dina Brooks from the School of Medicine at the University of Toronto (UofT) in the area of treating respiratory illnesses with physical activity.

The two researchers presented a summary of the collaboration to date during the opening symposium of FAPESP Week 2012 on Wednesday in Toronto.

Brooks said that Brazilians have taken part in her team for the past ten years and that, because of it, she realized the two countries enjoyed a synergy in their field. “The agreement with FAPESP may lead this courtship to marriage,” she joked, at the beginning of her talk.

Her specialty is the disease known as COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) caused mainly by smoking and pollution. The disease affects 4.4% of all Canadians, one out of every five smokers. It is the fourth leading cause of death in Canada.

Her research at the University of Toronto shows that the most effective way to reduce symptoms of the disease, which still has no cure, is by engaging in physical activity. In addition, education and psychological assistance help to ease the problems caused by the disease, which often include anxiety and depression.

Despite this, the percentage of Canadians who undergo these treatments is still low, according to Brooks only 1.2% of victims of the disease. In 1999, that number was even lower (only 0.5%).

For Brooks, an immediate outcome of the dialogue with Brazil was confirmation that 90% of those who suffered from COPD also had asthma, the treatment of which falls into the specialty area of Celso Ricardo Fernandes Carvalho.

According to Carvalho, close to 300 million people throughout the world suffer from asthma. Countries that have the highest incidence of asthma include Australia, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, the United States and the United Kingdom. Environmental factors that aggravate the disease are high levels of pollution, low humidity, and low temperature.

The bronchial constriction caused by asthma tends to increase during or just after physical exercise, which leads many sufferers to reduce or even eliminate exercise.

As a result, asthmatics are often overweight or obese, conditions that cause their health to worsen overall, and even aggravate the asthma itself. The more physically active asthmatics are, the fewer and less frequent are the symptoms, according to proven studies by Carvalho.

Research has also shown that the more severe the constriction is, the better recovery is in patients treated with physical therapy. A 2011 study revealed that people who presented symptoms every other day before undergoing physiotherapy presented them only once a week after the undergoing physical therapy.

While it is already known that aerobic activities (walking and biking) and muscle strengthening exercises are very effective, Carvalho and Brooks say that research is still needed to determine exactly which types of exercise may be more productive.

This is one of their expectations for the next few months of working together. They also hope that the increase in the number of patients who undergo the same treatment protocol provided by the addition of the two groups will increase the scientific significance of both their studies.

In addition, UofT hopes to learn more from USP about techniques for measuring sputum, an area in which the Brazilian university has expertise. USP in turn seeks to learn more about, and incorporate more tests for, measuring the effects of physiotherapy, an area in which the Canadian school has expertise.

A common problem encountered by the two groups, which Brooks and Carvalho will face together, is developing ways and means to increase the likelihood of more patients continuing to do the required exercise at home, once treatment has ended in the recovery centers, as well as a way to enable psychological assistance to be conducted long-distance.

In a demonstration of how multi-disciplinary events like FAPESP Week can be productive, Dina Brooks expressed her desire to learn more about the experiences of the Microsoft Research Institute-FAPESP Research in IT, whose objectives were displayed at the Toronto symposium by researcher Juliana Salles. Salles agreed to try to design an application that would allow the use of mobile communication devices specifically aimed at meeting the objectives of Brooks and Carvalho.