Predictors of Cognitive Decline in the Early Stages of Parkinson's Disease: A Brief Cognitive Assessment Longitudinal Study

Our objectives were to perform a longitudinal assessment of mental status in early stage Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients, with brief neuropsychological tests, in order to find predictive factors for cognitive decline. Sixty-one, early stage, and nondemented patients were assessed twice, over a 2-y...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Paulo Bugalho, Miguel Viana-Baptista
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2013-01-01
Series:Parkinson's Disease
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/912037
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Summary:Our objectives were to perform a longitudinal assessment of mental status in early stage Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients, with brief neuropsychological tests, in order to find predictive factors for cognitive decline. Sixty-one, early stage, and nondemented patients were assessed twice, over a 2-year interval, with a global cognitive test (mini-mental state examination (MMSE)) and a frontal function test (frontal assessment battery (FAB)) and motor function scales. Dementia and hallucinations were diagnosed according to the DSM-IV criteria. Cognitive function scores did not decrease significantly, except for FAB lexical fluency score. Four patients presented with dementia at followup. The MMSE score below cut-off, worse gait dysfunction, the nontremor motor subtype, and hallucinations were significantly related to dementia. Rigidity and speech dysfunction were related to dementia and a decrease in FAB scores. We can conclude that decline in the MMSE and FAB scores is small and heterogeneous in the early stages of PD. Scores below cut-off in the MMSE could be helpful to predict dementia. Nontremor motor deficits could be predictive factors for frontal cognitive decline and dementia.
ISSN:2090-8083
2042-0080