Dementia in Parkinson's disease

Objective: The concomitant presence of psychiatric syndromes, including dementia, with motor disturbance has been increasingly recognized during the last decade, with emphasis on cognitive impairment in idiopatic Parkinson's disease. This review will focus on the epidemiology, clinical aspects, differential diagnosis, underlying mechanisms and treatment of dementia in Parkinson's disease. Method: A literature review of the studies that investigated the dementia in Parkinson's disease was performed. Results: Dementia is highly prevalent in Parkinson's disease. The prototype of dementia in Parkinson's disease is a dysexecutive syndrome with impaired attention, executive functions and secondarily impaired memory. Neurochemically the most significant deficit seems to be cholinergic; dementia seems to correlate best with cortical and limbic Lewy bodies. Preliminary evidence suggests that cholinesterase inhibitors may be effective in Parkinson's disease dementia. Conclusions: Cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease is associated to specific features and is responsible for substantial disability in these patients.