Objective: This study evaluates the impact of participation in a community orchestra on people with PD.

Background: As interest in non-pharmacological therapies for Parkinson’s disease (PD) grows, music-based interventions emerge as a promising approach to alleviating both motor and non-motor symptoms.

Method: Two interventional studies, structured in participating in an orchestra-like format, included 15 rehearsals followed by a live performance over two months. PARKinSOUND 1.0 (2022) was a non-randomized controlled clinical trial involving 43 PD patients. Followed by PARKinSOUND 2.0 (2024), a single arm trial with 28 PD patients, which is the focus of this abstract. Participants were assessed using the MDS-UPDRS, MoCA, Stroop test, Timed Up-and-Go test (single, manual and cognitive), NMSQuest, PDQ-39, WHOQOL-BREF, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC). Primary outcome was defined as improvement of motor symptoms assessed through the TUG test. Evaluations were conducted at baseline, one week post-intervention, and at six months.

Results: The study included 28 participants (mean age: 62.6±12.4 years; 64.3% male). Musical experience was reported by 39.3%. Psychiatric conditions affected 50%, including anxiety (32.1%) and depression (17.9%). Mean disease duration was 7.6±3.8 years, with a median Hoehn & Yahr stage of 2 and a MoCA score of 22.8±8.5. Total MDS-UPDRS score was 53.1±25.6 and UPDRS-III 28.9±15.9. After the intervention, functional mobility, measured by TUG cognitive dual-task, improved significantly (z=-1.994, p=0.046); this effect was not sustained at six months. There was also an improvement in the MDS-UPDRS (46.1±23.9), UPDRS-III (24.4±14.4) and MoCA (24.0±4.0) scores, not statistically significant. Non-motor symptoms, assessed by NMSQuest, showed significant improvement (p=0.037), while depressive symptoms remained stable. Quality of life measures (WHOQOL-BREF; PDQ-39) showed positive but non-significant changes. At the final assessment, 79% reported a PGIC score ≤3 (positive changes), and all participants were “very satisfied”. There was one dropout at the first assessment and five during the final assessment.

Conclusion: This study highlights the feasibility of conducting trials on unconventional non-pharmacological interventions, such as participation in a community orchestra, reinforcing the potential value of music-based approaches in Parkinson’s disease care.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/parkinsound-2-0-the-impact-of-orchestra-participation-on-patients-with-parkinsons-disease/