Music can help people suffering from Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Researchers at the University of California, Irvine found that people with Alzheimer's scored higher on memory tests after listening to a Mozart piano sonata.

A study at the University of Miami School of Medicine found that people with Alzheimer's who listened to 30-40 minutes of music five times a week had higher levels of melatonin, a hormone that produces a calming effect.

Music therapy was found to relieve some physical symptoms of Parkinson's disease by scientists at Colorado State University and the University of Michigan. When walking to music, people could go faster, take bigger steps and they showed better balance and control of movement. Music was also found to elevate mood and cut the depression often seen in Parkinson's disease. More information about music's therapeutic role is available online from:

From Healthy.net