Frequency of dementia in Parkinson's disease

ABSTRACT

To assess the frequency of dementia in Parkinson's disease. Study Design:Descriptive study Place and DurationThe study was performed inBolan Medical Complex Hospital, Quetta during Dec 2009 to Jun 2011 [One and half year]. Patients and Methods The purpose of this study was to assess the frequency of dementia in Parkinson's disease. The outdoor patients presented with features of Parkinson's disease were evaluated by using 'UKPDBB' [United Kingdom Parkinson Disease Brain Bank] diagnostic criteria,disease severity assessed by [Hoehn and Yahr scale] and later on they will be assessed for dementia by using 'Mini-Mental Examination'. The exclusion criteria were history of repeated stroke, encephalitis, drug induced Parkinson's disease, drug addiction and brain tumour. The data was collected on structured questionnaire. For descriptive purpose patients were divided into two groups, Parkinson disease [PD] and Parkinson disease with dementia [PDD]. The data was analyzed by SPSS version 17.0. The frequency distribution in number and percentage was calculated.ResultsiThere were 35 patients who presented with the clinical features of Parkinson disease. The features of dementia were found in 6 patients [17%], while 29 patients [83%] remained non-demented. Among demented patients 6 [100%] of Parkinson disease, there were five male [83.3%], while one patient [16.7%] was female.The entire demented patients had started symptoms after the 6th decade.. Regarding functional disability PD group had Hoehn and Yahr score of < 3, while PDD group had > 3. Positive primitive reflexes common in both groups 4 out of 6 in PDD group, while 15 out of 29 in PD group. Mild cognitive impairment was found in 4 [11.4%] patients, not fulfilling the criteria of dementia Dementia in PD was not quite high in our study. Most of the patients had cognitive impairment during their 6th or 7Jh decade of life