NeuroPong: How this game is helping people in St. George fight neurological diseases

ST. GEORGE — The sound of ping pong balls being hit back and forth filled a room at the St. George Recreation Center as a group of nearly 30 older adults gathered for the game with a common goal: to socialize, get physical and “train their brains” as part of a program called NeuroPong.

The program, the brainchild of Dr. Antonio Barbera, aims to help people with neurodegenerative and other neurological diseases. The fast-paced sport stimulates the brain, improves hand-eye coordination and promotes physical activity and social contacts. Barbera said it is a great way to help people with multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and dementia.

“Our brains are challenged and stimulated,” Barbera told St. George News.

Barbera is originally a gynecologist from Italy who later moved to Denver, Colorado. He was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2016, but it wasn't until late 2019 that he realized that playing table tennis was related to the relief he felt from his illness afterward.

Read the full story at St. George News.