Objective: Compare cognitive function between Vascular Parkinsonism (VaP) and Parkinson´s Disease (PD) patients.

Background: Portuguese version of Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a validated screening instrument for cognitive dysfunction and has normative data and cut-off points for mild cognitive impairment and dementia. Most studies consider that early subcortical dementia is more common in VaP patients than in those with PD. Reduced attention span is considered the primarily feature for memory impairment seen in VaP.

Methods: Study conducted in 50 patients (VaP: 16 and PD: 34) with clinically suspected VaP (Zijlmans et al and/or Winikates and Jankovic criteria) and early PD (UK Parkinson´s Disease Society Brain Bank Clinical diagnostic criteria) diagnosed in the last 5 years in a Hospital Movement Disorders Outpatient Clinic. Cognitive assessment included MoCA (version 7.1.). Analyses included normative data of MoCA scores according to age (25-49, 50-64, ≥ 65 and all years) and education level (1-4, 5-9, 10-12, > 12 years and all years) for mild cognitive impairment, MCI (<22) and Vascular Dementia, VaD (<17).

Results: The mean age of the subjects was 72,36 years, 54% were male with no age and sex differences in VaP and PD patients. In both groups, 88% of the patients had ≥ 65 years old and 70% primary education level (1-4 years) with no differences between groups. Mean disease duration (years) was 1,81 (SD: 1,87) in VaP and 3,24 (SD: 1,76) in PD patients. The average MoCA score was 19,62 ± 1.45 (range 16,67 to 22,56) in PD and 19,27 ± 1.64 (range 15,94 to 22,59) in VaP patients. Five patients meet criteria for dementia (VaP: 3, DP: 2) and 38 for mild cognitive impairment (VaP: 12, PD: 26). MoCA cognitive domain scores were analysed according to age and educational level using a multivariate analysis of variance and there were no significant differences between VaP and PD groups.

Conclusions: We don´t find significant differences comparing early diagnosed VaP and PD patients using Portuguese version of MoCA in a hospital cross-section study.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/the-portuguese-version-of-montreal-cognitive-assessment-as-a-screening-test-comparing-vascular-parkinsonism-and-parkinsons-disease-in-a-hospital-cross-section-study/