Profile of cognitive impairment in dementia associated with Parkinson's disease compared with Alzheimer's disease.
OBJECTIVE
To compare the profile of cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease (AD) with dementia associated with Parkinson's disease (PDD).


METHODS
Neuropsychological assessment was performed in 488 patients with PDD and 488 patients with AD using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive subscale (ADAS-cog). Logistic regression analysis was used to investigate whether the diagnosis could be accurately predicted from the cognitive profile. Additionally, the cognitive profiles were compared with a normative group using standardised effect sizes (Cohen's d).


RESULTS
Diagnosis was predicted from the cognitive profile, with an overall accuracy of 74.7%. Poor performance of the AD patients on the orientation test in ADAS-cog best discriminated between the groups, followed by poor performance of the PDD patients on the attentional task in MMSE. Both groups showed memory impairment, AD patients performing worse than PDD patients.


CONCLUSIONS
The cognitive profile in PDD differs significantly from that in AD. Performance on tests of orientation and attention are best in differentiating the groups.
Bronnick
Kolbjorn
K
Norwegian Centre for Movement Disorders, Stavanger University Hospital, Helse Stavanger, Norway. bronnick@gmail.com
Emre
Murat
M
Lane
Roger
R
Tekin
Sibel
S
Aarsland
Dag
D
D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015984:Causality; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000145:classification* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*