I was right about something!

From the May/June 2005 issue of "Quest," vol.12, no.3,p. 56:

Exercise Shown Safe, Beneficial in FSH MD

Training on a stationary bicycle for 12 weeks improved oxygen uptake and workload capacity without causing damage in adults with fascioscapularhumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD), Danish researchers report in the March 22 issue of "Neurology."

David Olsen at National University Hospital in Copenhagen and colleagues studied four men and four women with FSHD judged "not severe." He compared the effects of the training program on these subjects with the effects of the same program on four men and three women without FSHD.

Training for 35 minutes five times a week increased measures of physical fitness in both groups. No muscle damage, assessed by biopsies and blood tests, occurred in either group.

In both groups, there was a slight increase in the number of capillaries in the muscles, a normal response to exercise.

Six people with FSHD reported an increase in strength, seven an increase in endurance, and five an increase in activity level after training. [!!!!! -dp] No one said walking ability had changed, and only one person reported a lessening of fatigue.

In an accompanying "patient page," neurologist Robin Brey advises that people with FSHD talk with their doctors about exercise.