title: Parkinson's disease and dementia: a longitudinal study (DEMPARK).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative motor disorder. However, non-motor complications frequently alter the course of the disease. A particularly disabling non-motor symptom is dementia.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study is designed as a multicentre prospective, observational cohort study of about 700 PD patients aged 45-80 years with or without dementia and PD-mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The patients will be recruited in eight specialized movement disorder clinics and will be followed for 36 months. Information about the patients' functional status will be assessed at baseline and 6-/12- month intervals. In addition, 120 patients with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) will be included. Well-established standardized questionnaires/tests will be applied for detailed neuropsychological assessment. In addition, patients will be asked to participate in modules including volumetric MRI, genetic parameters, and neuropsychology to detect risk factors, early diagnostic biomarkers and predictors for dementia in PD.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study included 604 PD patients by March 2011; 56.3% were classified as having PD alone, with 30.6% of patients suffering from PD-MCI and 13.1% from PD with dementia. The mean age of the cohort was 68.6 ± 7.9 years, with a mean disease duration of 6.8 ± 5.4 years. There was a preponderance of patients in the earlier Hoehn and Yahr stages.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The main aim of the study is to characterize the natural progression of cognitive impairment in PD and to identify factors which contribute to the evolution and/or progression of the cognitive impairment. To accomplish this aim we established a large cohort of PD patients without cognitive dysfunction, PD patients with MCI, and PD patients with dementia, to characterize these patients in a standardized manner, using imaging (serial structural MRI), genetic and proteomic methods in order to improve our understanding of the course of the PD process and the development of cognitive dysfunction and dementia in this disease. The inclusion of the DLB patients will start in the second quarter of 2011 in the BMBF-funded follow-up project LANDSCAPE.
authors: Department of Neurology, Philipps University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
authors: Monika
authors: M
authors: Balzer-Geldsetzer
authors: Ana Sofia Ferreira Braga da
authors: AS
authors: Costa
authors: Martin
authors: M
authors: Kronenbürger
authors: Jörg B
authors: JB
authors: Schulz
authors: Sandra
authors: S
authors: Röske
authors: Annika
authors: A
authors: Spottke
authors: Ullrich
authors: U
authors: Wüllner
authors: Thomas
authors: T
authors: Klockgether
authors: Alexander
authors: A
authors: Storch
authors: Christine
authors: C
authors: Schneider
authors: Oliver
authors: O
authors: Riedel
authors: Hans-Ulrich
authors: HU
authors: Wittchen
authors: Carola
authors: C
authors: Seifried
authors: Rüdiger
authors: R
authors: Hilker
authors: Nele
authors: N
authors: Schmidt
authors: Karsten
authors: K
authors: Witt
authors: Günther
authors: G
authors: Deuschl
authors: Brit
authors: B
authors: Mollenhauer
authors: Claudia
authors: C
authors: Trenkwalder
authors: Inga
authors: I
authors: Liepelt-Scarfone
authors: Susanne
authors: S
authors: Gräber-Sultan
authors: Daniela
authors: D
authors: Berg
authors: Thomas
authors: T
authors: Gasser
authors: Elke
authors: E
authors: Kalbe
authors: Maren
authors: M
authors: Bodden
authors: Wolfgang H
authors: WH
authors: Oertel
authors: Richard
authors: R
authors: Dodel
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000235:genetics; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003704:Dementia / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000235:genetics; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020961:Lewy Body Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000235:genetics; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000235:genetics; D011446:Prospective Studies