Dementia is 5 times more common in Parkinson's patients
Dr. Irene Litvan says that, unlike Alzheimer's disease patients, they are aware of their report
"Dementia is 5 to 6 times more frequent in patients with Parkinson's disease. Specifically, it is present in a high percentage of those diagnosed over 60 years of age. In contrast, recent programs of study in young patients followed for 8 years shows that the probability of developing cognitive impairment is reduced to 13%," said Dr. Irene Litvan, director of the Division of Movement Disorders at the University of Louisville, Kentucky (USA), in Pamplona. Dr. Litvan participated in the workshop "Cognitive Impairment in Parkinson's disease", organized by doctors Mª Cruz Rodríguez-Oroz and José Obeso, neurologists of the research center Applied Medicine (CIMA) of the University of Navarra and theUniversity Clinic, with the sponsorship of Lundbeck Laboratories.
The link between dementia and Parkinson's disease is due to the presence of multiple pathology. "Sometimes it is the pathology itself that occurs in Parkinson's, the accumulation of alphasynuclein, a protein that is concentrated in the motor areas and that, in cases with cognitive impairment, is also present in the cortical areas. On other occasions it is accompanied by Alzheimer's disease, vascular problems, etc.".
Dementia offers several peculiarities in patients with Parkinson's disease. On the one hand, the problem is not focused on recording information, but on remembering it properly. That is why it is recommended to provide clues to help the patient to obtain a reference letter: "These patients are different from those affected with Alzheimer's disease, since they realize that the report is failing".
In Parkinson's disease, frontal aspects are more markedly affected, making it difficult to perform several tasks simultaneously. In addition, visual hallucinations are more frequent in these patients and, in general, appear earlier than in other diseases, "partly due to the treatment they receive".
On the other hand, cognitive impairment presents itself differently depending on the age of the patient. "While younger patients show more tremor and the disease is asymmetrical (acting more on one side of the body than the other), older people develop gait or balance problems, so these factors are more associated with development dementia," according to Dr. Litvan.
Currently, the research is aimed at studying the genetic factors involved and finding treatments to halt the course of the disease. "If we can prevent the proteins from continuing to aggregate in the cells, we will be able to stabilize the disease and apply therapies to alleviate the symptoms".