PARKINSON'S disease patients in the North-East have helped pioneer a promising new way to help sufferers.

Results from the international study, which used external "cues" to prompt movements, showed a significant improvement in walking, balance and mobility in patients.

Audrey Tonks, 71, from Chester-le-Street, County Durham, was one of 50 North-East patients selected for a three-year research project.

The study, involving Northumbria University and universities in Belgium and Netherlands, found that by providing Parkinson's patients with cues, including lights, sounds and vibrations, it could help improve the mobility of people with the disabling condition.

Typically, Parkinson's disease sufferers experience symptoms such as slowness and unpredictable freezing of movement.

During the research, scientists used a device that gives a prompt, or cue, to replace the signals normally triggered by the brain, which tell us what to do in a long sequence of movements such as walking. With Parkinson's sufferers, these automatic cues can be disrupted.

Mrs Tonks said: "I was thrilled to bits when I found out I had been selected to take part in this study and really enjoyed taking part in something which I know is going to benefit so many people in the future."

The research was conducted by Northumbria University, the Katholieke Universiteit, in Belgium and the Vrije Universiteit Medical Centre, in Amsterdam.

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