title: Cognitive performances and DAT imaging in early Parkinson's disease with mild cognitive impairment: a preliminary study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a common feature in Parkinson's disease (PD). We performed an exploratory study to investigate dopaminergic nigrostriatal innervation and its cognitive correlates in early untreated PD patients with MCI as compared to cognitively intact patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  A consecutive series of 34-de-novo, drug-naïve patients with PD were enrolled. They underwent [123-I] FP-CIT SPECT and comprehensive neuropsychological battery. MCI was identified in 15 of 34 patients with PD.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The two groups did not show any statistically significant difference in age, sex, disease duration, education, lateralization, and H&Y and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale scores. Logistic regression analysis showed that UPDRS-III was weakly associated with MCI (P = 0.034). Partial correlation analysis controlling for UPDRS-III and age suggested that in PD patients with MCI reduced V3″ values in the more affected caudate were correlated with reduced performances in frontal assessment battery, Trail Making Test: part B minus Part A and copy task of the Rey-Osterrieth complex figure test. Reduced V3″ values in the more and less affected putamen were significantly related with reduced performance in frontal assessment battery and in copy task of Rey-Osterrieth complex figure test, respectively. No correlation was found between neuropsychological scores and DAT availability in PD patients without MCI.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although preliminary, our results suggest that striatal dopamine depletion may contribute to some cognitive deficit in early never treated PD patients with MCI.
authors: Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Salerno, Salerno, Italy.
authors: M T
authors: MT
authors: Pellecchia
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Picillo
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Santangelo
authors: K
authors: K
authors: Longo
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Moccia
authors: R
authors: R
authors: Erro
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Amboni
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Vitale
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Vicidomini
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Salvatore
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Barone
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Pappatà
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000378:metabolism*; D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon / Q000379:methods; D014326:Tropanes
chemical_list: D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D014326:Tropanes; C087552:2-carbomethoxy-8-(3-fluoropropyl)-3-(4-iodophenyl)tropane
keywords: SPECT; cognition; dopamine transporter; early Parkinson's disease; mild cognitive impairment