Objective: To evaluate the effect of genetic variants implicated in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) risk on cognitive decline in Parkinson’s disease (PD).

Background: People with PD exhibit a high degree of AD-related pathology at autopsy, and AD pathology is the pathological finding most associated with dementia in PD. Genome-wide association studies have identified genetic variants associated with AD risk. People with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) are at high risk of developing cognitive impairment and dementia, but the effect of genetic variants associated with AD have not been evaluated in this population.

Methods: We performed a prospective cohort study of participants with a diagnosis of PD based on expert clinical examination. Participants with a diagnosis of dementia at baseline were excluded. All participants were followed for at least 1 year and cognitive testing via Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) was performed at yearly intervals. Genotyping at eleven SNPs nominated from the literature was performed. Mixed effect linear models were used to determine effect of SNP genotype on change in MoCA score over time.

Results: 155 subjects with PD had a median duration of follow up of 2.48 years. Multiple SNPs associated with risk of AD were also predictive of longitudinal cognitive decline in PD.

Conclusions: Common genetic variants associated with AD were predictive of cognitive decline in PD.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/alzheimers-disease-genetic-risk-variants-predict-cognitive-decline-in-parkinsons-disease/