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Dynamic Digital Biomarkers of Motor and Cognitive Function in Parkinson's Disease
10:28

Dynamic Digital Biomarkers of Motor and Cognitive Function in Parkinson's Disease

Published on: July 24, 2019

Changes on brief cognitive instruments over time in Parkinson's disease

Stephanie Lessig1, Dong Nie, Ronghui Xu

  • 1Department of Neurosciences, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, USA. slessig@ucsd.edu

Movement Disorders : Official Journal of the Movement Disorder Society
|June 14, 2012
PubMed

Insights

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) detects early cognitive deficits in Parkinson's disease (PD) better than the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE). However, the MMSE is more effective for tracking long-term cognitive decline in PD patients.

Area of Science:

  • Neurology
  • Neuropsychology
  • Gerontology

Background:

  • Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder affecting motor function and often associated with cognitive impairment.
  • Accurate assessment of cognitive changes is crucial for managing PD progression and patient care.
  • Existing cognitive screening tools may have varying sensitivities in detecting early or longitudinal cognitive deficits in PD.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the sensitivity of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) in identifying cognitive deficits in individuals with Parkinson's disease.
  • To evaluate the longitudinal performance of MoCA and MMSE in tracking cognitive changes over time in a PD cohort.

Main Methods:

  • A cohort of 221 subjects with Parkinson's disease (PD) underwent cognitive assessment using both MoCA and MMSE.
  • A subset of 98 participants were re-evaluated up to 3 years later to assess longitudinal changes.
  • Statistical analyses were performed to compare the tools' sensitivity and track changes across different patient strata.

Main Results:

  • The MoCA demonstrated higher sensitivity than the MMSE in detecting cognitive deficits, particularly in visuospatial, language, and memory domains.
  • The MMSE showed significant changes over time, especially in patients with PD duration exceeding 10 years.
  • The MoCA did not exhibit significant changes over the study period, irrespective of age, MMSE score, or disease duration.

Conclusions:

  • The MoCA appears more effective for identifying early-stage cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease.
  • The MMSE may be a more suitable tool for monitoring the progression of cognitive decline over extended periods in PD patients.
  • These findings suggest a complementary role for MoCA and MMSE in the comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation of Parkinson's disease.

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