Session Information
Date: Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Session Title: Cognition and Cognitive Disorders
Session Time: 1:15pm-2:45pm
Location: Agora 3 East, Level 3
Objective: We investigated neuroanatomical differences between Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients with and without semantic fluency impairment and explored predictive markers for dementia development.
Background: Sematic fluency impairment is an early cognitive deficit encountered in PD. The underlying pathophysiology is uncertain.
Method: We identified 395 de novo PD patients, without dementia, and 172 healthy controls from the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative database. Grey matter volumes across a priori limbic regions of interest were compared between PD patients with (n=63) and those without (n=332) semantic fluency impairment and healthy controls using voxel based morphometry analysis. A subset of patients (n=156) were further assessed for microstructural changes using diffusor tensor imaging (DTI). A multivariate Cox analysis was conducted to investigate predictive factors for the development of dementia over a 60 month follow up period.
Results: PD patients with semantic fluency impairment had volumetric reduction in the superficial amygdala (P=0.021) and hippocampal-amygdaloid transition area (P=0.029). A multivariate model for the development of dementia in PD patients demonstrated that semantic fluency score (HR=0.942 CI 0.92-0.964; P<0.0001) and superficial amygdala T1 volume (HR=0.973 CI 0.951-0.996; P=0.02), after adjustment for age and gender as covariates, were predictive factors of cognitive decline, together with superficial amygdala DTI mean diffusivity (HR=2.382; P=0.037).
Conclusion: Amygdala atrophy underlies semantic fluency deterioration seen in PD and is a predictive factor, along with semantic fluency score, for the development of PD dementia. Early identification of patients at risk of dementia could aid customisation of treatment and development of clinical trials. This abstract has also been submitted for presentation at the European Academy of Neurology Congress June 2019.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
O. Cousins, G. Pagano, J. Schulz, G. Dervenoulas, H. Wilson, S. Caminiti, S. Polychronis, M. Politis. Semantic fluency impairment and amygdala atrophy are predictive factors for the development of Parkinson’s disease dementia [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2019; 34 (suppl 2). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/semantic-fluency-impairment-and-amygdala-atrophy-are-predictive-factors-for-the-development-of-parkinsons-disease-dementia/. Accessed December 10, 2024.« Back to 2019 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/semantic-fluency-impairment-and-amygdala-atrophy-are-predictive-factors-for-the-development-of-parkinsons-disease-dementia/