title: Cognitive and motor performance in multiple system atrophy and Parkinson's disease compared.
abstract: Nineteen patients with multiple system atrophy (MSA) of striato-nigral degeneration type were tested to examine cognitive and motor performance. Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and healthy subjects served as controls. The MSA and PD patients showed similar cognitive dysfunction and motor impairment, performing poorly in the visuo-spatial organization, the construction tests and motor assessment tests. Movement times were much longer in MSA than PD patients. The association of nigral with putaminal damage may explain the more severe bradykinesia in MSA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, National Neurological Institute C. Besta, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Testa
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Fetoni
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Soliveri
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Musicco
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Palazzini
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Girotti
mesh_terms: D001284:Atrophy; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009410:Nerve Degeneration / Q000502:physiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000523:psychology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D013378:Substantia Nigra / Q000473:pathology*