title: Cognitive profile of Alzheimer patients with extrapyramidal signs: a longitudinal study.
abstract: The cognitive profile of Alzheimer patients without (ADE-, n = 17) and with (AD, E+, n = 15) extrapyramidal signs (rigidity or bradykinesia), at the time of diagnosis, was examined in a 3-year follow-up study and compared to cognitive performance of demented (PD D+, n = 18) and nondemented (PD D-, n = 17) patients with Parkinson's disease and normal elderly controls (n = 19). Although the AD E+ and AD E- groups did not differ significantly at the initial testing, the AD E+ patients showed greater deterioration on visual, praxic and expressive speech functions as well as in category memory. The cognitive profile of the AD E+ patients was similar to that of the PD D+ patients except that the AD E+ patients recognized more false positive targets on list-learning task. The AD E- patients had better preserved praxic functions and WAIS Performance IQ but they, like AD E+ patients, recognized more false positive targets on list-learning than the PD D+ patients did. The results suggest that AD patients with extrapyramidal signs, even if mild, at the time of diagnosis may have greater progression of cognitive impairment, especially on cortical functions, which may explain earlier need for institutional care observed in previous studies as compared to patients without these signs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Soininen
authors.forename: E L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Helkala
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Laulumaa
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Soikkeli
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hartikainen
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Riekkinen
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000523:psychology*; D001480:Basal Ganglia Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D012720:Severity of Illness Index