J Clin Neurol.  2009 Sep;5(3):133-138. 10.3988/jcn.2009.5.3.133.

Cognitive Impairment in Parkinson's Disease without Dementia: Subtypes and Influences of Age

• Kim JW
• Cheon SM
• Park MJ
• Kim S
• Jo HY

• KMID: 2045419
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3988/jcn.2009.5.3.133

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Cognitive impairments are common in Parkinson's disease (PD), although the severity of these impairments does not significantly impair the patient's daily activities. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) of Parkinson's disease (PDMCI) and its subtypes in nondemented PD patients. We also evaluated the influence of age on the pattern of subtypes of PDMCI. METHODS: A total of 141 consecutive, nondemented PD patients underwent a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment covering the five cognitive domains: attention, language, visuospatial, memory, and executive functions. PDMCI was defined as impaired performance in at least one of these five cognitive domains. The influence of age on the distribution of subtypes of PDMCI was assessed by comparing patients in two groups dichotomized according to their age at assessment (younger vs. older). RESULTS: Fifty-seven (40.4%) of the nondemented PD patients had an impairment in at least one domain, and were therefore considered as having PDMCI. The age at assessment and age at disease onset were significantly higher in the PDMCI patients. The amnestic type of PDMCI was the most frequent, followed by the visuospatial, linguistic, executive, and attention types in that order. The frequency of PDMCI was higher for all subtypes in the older group; the domain that was influenced the most by age was executive function. CONCLUSIONS: MCI was common in PD and the subtypes were diverse. Age was found to be an important risk factor for the development of PDMCI, particularly for the executive subtype. These results indicate that the concept of MCI should be introduced in PD.

Keyword

Parkinson's disease; mild cognitive impairment; Parkinson's disease dementia

MeSH Terms

Executive Function
Humans
Linguistics
Memory
Mild Cognitive Impairment
Parkinson Disease
Risk Factors

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Frequency of mild cognitive impairment subtypes according to the involved domain.

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  Fig. 2 Frequency of mild cognitive impairment subtypes according to age group.

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