Session Information
Date: Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Session Title: Neuroimaging
Session Time: 1:15pm-2:45pm
Location: Les Muses Terrace, Level 3
Objective: To explore the incidence and characteristics of early cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients and the relationship with regional cholinergic innervation.
Background: Cognitive impairment is a common non-motor feature in PD with a large impact on the prognosis and quality of life of patients. The underlying pathology of cognitive impairment in PD is multifactorial and has been shown to be related to altered cholinergic innervation in both cortical and subcortical regions. Early identification of the relationship between cognitive impairment and cholinergic innervation is of great importance for the prognosis of the disease and possible early intervention. Vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) PET imaging provides the opportunity to investigate regional cholinergic innervation and its relationship with clinical symptomology.
Method: 100 newly diagnosed, treatment-naïve PD patients, with a confirmed presynaptic dopaminergic deficit on the dopaminergic PET scan, were included in this cohort study. Assessment included extensive neuropsychological assessment covering all cognitive domains and cholinergic PET imaging using the VAChT tracer [18F]fluoroethoxybenzovesamicol.
Results: Baseline characteristics of the cognitive impairment in 100 de novo PD patients will be presented, including the incidence of PD-related mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI) and specific domain related impairments. In addition, the relationship between cognitive performance and regional cortical VAChT binding will be presented, identifying specific regions related to cognitive impairment in early PD.
Conclusion: In conclusion, the DUPARC baseline data have improved our understanding of the cholinergic innervation in early, treatment-naïve, PD patients, and has established the relationship with cognitive performance across domains. DUPARC also provides the opportunity to perform follow-up, identifying patients at risk for cognitive decline.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
S. Vander Zee, JM. Boertien, MJJ. Gerritsen, JM. Spikman, T. van Laar. The Dutch Parkinson and Cognition study (DUPARC): Cognitive impairment and cholinergic innervation in de novo Parkinson’s Disease patients [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2019; 34 (suppl 2). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/the-dutch-parkinson-and-cognition-study-duparc-cognitive-impairment-and-cholinergic-innervation-in-de-novo-parkinsons-disease-patients/. Accessed May 15, 2025.« Back to 2019 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/the-dutch-parkinson-and-cognition-study-duparc-cognitive-impairment-and-cholinergic-innervation-in-de-novo-parkinsons-disease-patients/