Neuropsychological profiles and their correlation to motor symptoms in newly diagnosed Parkinsondisease patients with mild cognitive impairment
- Author:
Eun Joo Chung
;
Jae-Hyeok Lee
;
Kyngha Seok
;
Sang Jin Kim
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- From:Neurology Asia
2014;19(1):19-25
- CountryMalaysia
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Background & Objectives: Frontal executive dysfunction, which is hypothesized to reflect dorsolateral
prefrontal function, predominates in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Visuospatial dysfunction and episodic
memory deficit, which are associated with the posterior cortical area, are critical symptoms of mild
cognitive impairment in PD (PD-MCI). The first aim of this study is to investigate whether dominant
cognitive deficits are caused by posterior cortical dysfunction in drug naïve, de novo PD-MCI patients.
The second aim is to analyze the relationship between parkinsonian motor symptoms and the cognitive
domain in these patients. Methods: Newly diagnosed PD patients who had not received treatment were
divided into two subgroups as follows: PD-MCI (n=39) and PD patients with normal cognition (PD-NC)
(n=39). Various neuropsychological tests were performed in all of the patients. The parkinsonian motor
subscores were divided into tremor, rigidity, axial impairment, bulbar dysfunction and bradykinesia
by the UPDRS motor scores. Results: Verbal episodic memory (immediate recall; p = 0.0001, delayed
recall; p = 0.0001, recognition; p = 0.003), visual episodic memory (immediate recall; p = 0.0001,
delayed recall; p = 0.002) and visuospatial function (p = 0.046) were lower in the PD-MCI group
than in the PD-NC group. In the analysis of the correlation of the motor components to the cognitive
tests, impairment in visual episodic memory correlated with axial symptoms (immediate recall; r =
-0.441, p = 0.021, delayed recall; r = -0.393, p = 0.042). The contrast program test correlated with
bradykinesia (r = -0.479, p = 0.013)
Conclusion: Episodic memory and visuospatial dysfunction, which reflect impairment of the posterior
cortical area, are critical cognitive deficits, and memory impairment is correlated with the axial symptoms
that are associated with non-dopaminergic pathways in newly diagnosed PD-MCI patients.
- Full text:P020150623458889460715.pdf
