Cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease is a movement disorder with symptoms that go beyond the motor dysfunction. About 20–50% of patients with Parkinson's disease develop mild cognitive impairment, characterised by memory decline, disorientation, or reduced cognition. 1 Goldman JG Litvan I Mild cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease. Minerva Med. 2011; 102: 441-459 PubMed Google Scholar Increasing evidence suggests that the risk of progression to dementia is high in patients with Parkinson's disease and mild cognitive impairment. 2 Janvin CC Larsen JP Aarsland D Hugdahl K Subtypes of mild cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease: progression to dementia. Mov Disord. 2006; 21: 1343-1349 Crossref PubMed Scopus (455) Google Scholar , 3 Pigott K Rick J Xie SX et al. Longitudinal study of normal cognition in Parkinson disease. Neurology. 2015; 85: 1276-1282 Crossref PubMed Scopus (149) Google Scholar Loss of cognitive ability and dependence on care can pose a huge burden for patients and their families. 4 Schrag A Jahanshahi M Quinn N What contributes to quality of life in patients with Parkinson's disease?. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2000; 69: 308-312 Crossref PubMed Scopus (1047) Google Scholar Predictors that can help identify patients with Parkinson's disease at risk of cognitive impairment would be of tremendous importance. Although potential markers for prediction of cognitive decline in Parkinson's disease have been identified, 5 Hu MT Szewczyk-Królikowski K Tomlinson P et al. Predictors of cognitive impairment in an early stage Parkinson's disease cohort. Mov Disord. 2014; 29: 351-359 Crossref PubMed Scopus (110) Google Scholar reliable predictors have yet to be established. Clinical variables and biomarkers in prediction of cognitive impairment in patients with newly diagnosed Parkinson's disease: a cohort studyIn newly diagnosed Parkinson's disease, the occurrence of cognitive impairment at 2 year follow-up can be predicted with good accuracy using a model combining information on age, non-motor assessments, DAT imaging, and CSF biomarkers. Full-Text PDF