Objective: Our study aimed to investigate and compare the cognitive functioning in PD and PPS.

Background: Parkinson[s] disease (PD) is now known to be associated with non-motor symptoms (NMS) in addition to its usual motor manifestations. There is an increasing realization that cognitive deficits significantly contribute to the morbidity and increase the burden of disease caused by the classical motor symptoms. There is a dearth of literature concerning cognitive functioning in individuals with Parkinson plus syndrome (PPS).

Methods: Forty patients with PD and 20 with PPS were included consecutively from movement disorder clinic of a tertiary care centre over a period of one year. Diagnosis was confirmed according to UK Brain Bank criteria for PD, NINDS-SPSP clinical criteria for progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), Proposed research criteria for corticobasal degeneration (CBD), Consensus criteria for multiple system atrophy (MSA), and latest consensus diagnostic criteria for dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Severity of disease was assessed by Unified Parkinson’s disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and Modified Hoehn & Yahr staging. Cognition was assessed using Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Scales for Outcomes in Parkinson’s disease-Cognition (SCOPA-COG).

Results: The mean age of PD subjects (M=25, F=15) was 55.02 ±13.56 years with a mean illness duration of 2.09 ± 1.82 years. The mean age of PPS subjects (M=13, F=7) was 62.65 ±10.52 years with a mean illness duration of 2.43 ± 1.29 years. The mean UPDRS-III score of PD and PPS subjects was 22.10 ± 5.83 and 24.75 ± 7.20 respectively. Cognitive impairment was observed less in subjects with PD as compared to PPS over both assessment scales [MMSE: 30% vs 55%; SCOPA-Cog: 22.5% vs 35%]. No correlation was observed between cognitive impairment with duration and severity of disease in PD or PPS.

Conclusions: Cognitive deficits are frequently observed in PD as well as PPS with the latter having more dysfunction.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/cognitive-functioning-in-parkinsons-disease-and-parkinson-plus-syndrome/