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Differential cognitive functioning in the digital clock drawing test in AD-MCI and PD-MCI populations
Chen Wang1, Kai Li2,3, Shouqiang Huang1
1School of Medical Technology and Information Engineering, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China.
Background:
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is common in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD), but there are differences in pathogenesis and cognitive performance between Mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's disease (AD-MCI) and Parkinson's disease with Mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI) populations. Studies have shown that assessments based on the digital clock drawing test (dCDT) can effectively reflect cognitive deficits. Based on this, we proposed the following research hypothesis: there is a difference in cognitive functioning between AD-MCI and PD-MCI populations in the CDT, and the two populations can be effectively distinguished based on this feature.
Methods:
To test this hypothesis, we designed the dCDT to extract digital biomarkers that can characterize and quantify cognitive function differences between AD-MCI and PD-MCI populations. We enrolled a total of 40 AD-MCI patients, 40 PD-MCI patients, 41 PD with normal cognition (PD-NC) patients and 40 normal cognition (NC) controls.
Results:
Through a cross-sectional study, we revealed a difference in cognitive function between AD-MCI and PD-MCI populations in the dCDT, which distinguished AD-MCI from PD-MCI patients, the area under the roc curve (AUC) = 0.923, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.866-0.983. The AUC for effective differentiation between AD-MCI and PD-MCI patients with high education (≥12 years of education) was 0.968, CI = 0.927-1.000. By correlation analysis, we found that the overall plotting of task performance score (VFDB 1) correlated with the [visuospatial/executive] subtest score on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scale (Spearman rank correlation coefficient [R] = 0.472, p < 0.001).
Conclusion:
The dCDT is a tool that can rapidly and accurately characterize and quantify differences in cognitive functioning in AD-MCI and PD-MCI populations.
Insights
The digital clock drawing test (dCDT) effectively differentiates Alzheimer's disease (AD-MCI) and Parkinson's disease (PD-MCI) cognitive deficits. This tool accurately quantifies cognitive function differences in these patient populations.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Medical Diagnostics
Background:
- Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is prevalent in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD).
- Distinct pathogenesis and cognitive profiles exist between AD-MCI and PD-MCI.
- The digital clock drawing test (dCDT) shows potential for assessing cognitive deficits.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate cognitive function differences between AD-MCI and PD-MCI using the dCDT.
- To determine if the dCDT can effectively distinguish between AD-MCI and PD-MCI populations.
- To develop digital biomarkers for characterizing cognitive impairments.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study design was employed.
- Participants included 40 AD-MCI, 40 PD-MCI, 41 PD-NC, and 40 NC individuals.
- The dCDT was utilized to extract digital biomarkers for cognitive assessment.
Main Results:
- The dCDT demonstrated significant differences in cognitive function between AD-MCI and PD-MCI populations (AUC=0.923).
- High educational attainment (≥12 years) further enhanced differentiation accuracy (AUC=0.968).
- dCDT performance scores correlated with Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) visuospatial/executive subtest scores (R=0.472, p<0.001).
Conclusions:
- The dCDT serves as a rapid and accurate tool for characterizing and quantifying cognitive differences.
- It effectively distinguishes between AD-MCI and PD-MCI patient populations.
- Digital biomarkers from the dCDT hold promise for diagnosing and managing cognitive impairment.
