Intense exercise helps delay Parkinson's disease progression.

The neuroprotective effect of physical activity is associated with the survival of neurons releasing the neurotransmitter dopamine and with the consequent striatal neurons' ability to express a form of dopamine-dependent plasticity, aspects otherwise impaired by the disease.

As a result, motor control and visuospatial learning, which depend on nigrostriatal activity, are conserved in animals that practice intensive training.

Neuroscientists have also found that BDNF, whose levels increase with exercise, interacts with the NMDA receptor for glutamate, enabling neurons in the striatum to respond efficiently to stimuli, with effects that persist beyond the exercise practice

Reference: "Intensive exercise ameliorates motor and cognitive symptoms in experimental Parkinson's disease by restoring striatal synaptic plasticity", Science Advances