[Cognitive disorders in Parkinson disease. Electroencephalographic correlations]

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Idiopathic Parkinson disease (IPD) is a neurodegenerative disorder affecting motor function.
• Cognitive and psychic impairments are common in IPD patients.
• Electroencephalogram (EEG) abnormalities may correlate with IPD-related changes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate cognitive and psychic impairments in IPD patients.
• To analyze electroencephalogram (EEG) findings, including photic stimulation responses, in IPD patients.
• To compare EEG patterns between IPD patients and a control group.

Main Methods:

• Clinical evaluation of 62 IPD patients and 30 controls using DSM III-R, mini-mental state examination, and Hamilton rating scale for depression.
• Electroencephalogram (EEG) registration with photic stimulation.
• Statistical comparison of EEG findings between groups.

Main Results:

• 54.8% of IPD patients displayed cognitive/psychic impairments, including depression (24.2%), anxiety (14.5%), dysthymic disorder (12.9%), and dementia (3.2%).
• 58.1% of IPD patients showed bilateral theta waves on EEG, predominantly in frontotemporal or temporal areas, more on the left.
• Only 16.7% of controls had similar EEG findings; photic stimulation did not alter EEGs in either group.
• EEG findings were statistically significant between IPD and control groups but not between IPD patients with and without psychic impairment.

Conclusions:

• Parkinson disease patients exhibit a high prevalence of cognitive and psychic disorders.
• Abnormal EEG theta wave activity is significantly more common in Parkinson disease patients than in controls.
• EEG theta wave abnormalities in Parkinson disease are not directly correlated with the presence or absence of psychic impairment.