Evaluation of cognitive impairment in a population of patients with Parkinson's disease by means of the Mini Mental Parkinson test

Introduction. Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder in which motor symptoms are initially predominant; however; as the disease progresses, cognitive deterioration becomes more evident. Tests designed to detect cognitive impairment are therefore needed. Aims. The aim of the study was to assess the cognitive status of a population of patients with PD by means of the Mini Mental Parkinson test (MMP). Patients and methods. In 110 patients with idiopathic PD, with a mean age of 66.4 +/- 10.2 years and an average history of 8.8 +/- 5.8 years of the disease, the mean severity of the disease as measured by the unified PD rating scale (UPDRS-III) was 26.2 +/- 12.9. Results. There were 20 (18.2%) subjects with dementia according to DSM-IV criteria, with a score of 20.4 +/- 6.4 on the MMP Of the 90 patients who did not have dementia, 47 cases displayed cognitive impairment, without the presence of disorders affecting their activities of daily living, who scored 25.3 +/- 4.7 points on the MMP and 43 cases did not show airy kind of cognitive impairment, with 28.0 +/- 3.3 points on the MMP: these differences were statistically significant p < 0.001. Results according to age brackets showed a decrease in MMP with age and more especially so concerning memory functioning. As to severity, there is a cognitive decline, in particular with regard to memory orientation and abstraction. Conclusions. Cognitive capacity is seen to decline with age and the severity of the disease.