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Short latency afferent inhibition in Parkinson's disease patients with dementia
Ozlem Celebi1, Cağrı Mesut Temuçin, Bulent Elibol
1Department of Neurology, Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
Background:
Cortical cholinergic deficiency occurs in Parkinson's disease (PD) and is more severe in PD dementia (PDD). Short-latency afferent inhibition (SAI) can be used as an in vivo test for the evaluation of the cholinergic circuit in the cerebral motor cortex.
Methods:
SAI and neuropsychological profile were studied in nondemented PD, PDD, Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients, and age-matched controls.
Results:
SAI was significantly impaired in AD cases (94.7 ± 6.2 versus 55.5 ± 4.0; P < 0.0001). In PD patients, it was not different from controls (61.4 ± 5.8 versus 55.5 ± 4.0; P = 0.412). PDD cases demonstrated a significant impairment in SAI (91.4 ± 5.2 versus 55.5 ± 4.0; P < 0.0001). A high correlation was found between SAI and Mini-Mental State Examination (r = -0.68; P < 0.0001).
Conclusions:
These findings add further evidence that differential cholinergic deficiency occurs in PD and PDD. SAI can be a neurophysiological correlate of PDD.
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