J Mov Disord.  2018 Sep;11(3):139-144. 10.14802/jmd.18037.

Cognition, Olfaction and Uric Acid in Early de novo Parkinson's Disease

• Lee HR
• Park JH
• Han SW
• Baik JS

• KMID: 2438831
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.14802/jmd.18037

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
Cognitive impairment is one of the nonmotor symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD), and olfactory dysfunction is used as a marker to detect premotor stages of PD. Serum uric acid (sUA) levels have been found to be a risk factor for PD. Our objective in this study was to examine whether sUA levels are associated with cognitive changes and olfactory dysfunction in early de novo PD patients.
METHODS
The study participants included 196 de novo PD patients. We assessed cognitive function by the Korean versions of the Mini-Mental State Examination and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and assessed olfactory function by the Korean version of the Sniffin' Sticks test.
RESULTS
The mean sUA level was 4.7 mg/dL and was significantly lower in women than in men. Cognitive scores were lower in women, suggesting that sUA levels were related to cognitive function. The olfactory functions were not related to sUA level but were clearly associated with cognitive scores. Olfactory threshold, odor discrimination, and odor identification were all significantly related to cognitive scores.
CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that lower sUA levels were associated with cognitive impairment, not olfactory dysfunction, in de novo PD patients. This finding suggests that UA is neuroprotective as an antioxidant in the cognitive function of PD patients.

Keyword

Cognition; Parkinson's disease; olfaction; uric acid

MeSH Terms

Cognition Disorders
Cognition*
Discrimination (Psychology)
Female
Humans
Male
Odors
Parkinson Disease*
Risk Factors
Smell*
Uric Acid*
Uric Acid