The Effectiveness of Reality Orientation Therapy in the Treatment of Parkinson Disease Dementia.

Patients with Parkinson disease dementia (PDD) have deficits resulting mainly from frontostriatal dysfunction. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of reality orientation therapy (ROT) combined with drug therapy (acetylcholinesterase inhibitors) in PDD treatment and compare it with that of drug therapy alone. Patients (n = 12) with a diagnosis of PDD were divided into 2 groups: group A-drug therapy and ROT; group B-drug therapy alone. Reality orientation therapy was applied weekly for 6 months, and patients were assessed during the same period. Significant improvements in frontostriatal deficits were observed in the group that received the combined therapy, as shown mainly by the scores in verbal fluency in the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD) battery ( P = .02) and in attention in Scales for outcomes of Parkinson's Disease-Cognition ( P = .021) and Clock Drawing Test ( P = .037). Patients who received only medication had worse results in constructional praxis recall in the CERAD battery ( P = .037). Our results indicate that ROT may help in the treatment of frontostriatal cognitive deficits and can potentially be used to complement drug therapy.

Association between olfactory loss and cognitive deficits in Parkinson's disease.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare the cognitive deficits and olfaction in PD patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In all, 42 PD patients and 38 controls were selected. All the individuals in both groups underwent cognitive assessment with the SCOPA-Cog neuropsychological battery and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and olfactory assessment with the Sniffin' Sticks Screening 12 Test. Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD) was diagnosed using the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society (MDS) criteria. RESULTS: The prevalence of olfactory dysfunction in PD patients was 95.24% (40/42). There was no statistically significant difference in olfaction when compared to patients with PDD and PD without cognitive deficits (5.12 ± 3.25 vs. 6.71 ± 2.63, p = 0.115). Attention [r = 0.35, 95% CI = (0.05-0.59), p = 0.01] was the only cognitive domain correlated with olfactory loss in PD patients. There was a higher correlation among the scores of cognitive and olfactory assessments in controls, r=0.40 (95% CI = [0.09-0.64], p = 0.007), with MMSE. CONCLUSION: The olfactory deficits prevalence in PD patients was significantly high. There may be a correlation between frontal lobe dysfunction and olfactory deficit.

Differentiating Between Apathy and Depression in Patients With Parkinson Disease Dementia.

In Parkinson disease (PD), apathy and depression often overlap, making it difficult to differentiate between them. This study sought to analyze apathy and depression in patients with PD dementia (PDD). Forty patients were diagnosed with PDD using the Movement Disorder Society criteria. A statistically significant correlation was identified between worsening dementia and an improvement in depression ( r = .3695; r2 = .1365, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.0985 to 05.894, P = .0044) and between worsening dementia and worsening apathy ( r = -.2578, r2 = .0664, 95% CI: -0.5025 to .0251, P = .036). Depression had a greater correlation with advanced motor symptoms ( r = .4988, r2 = .2438, 95% CI: 0.2218-0.7013, P = .0005]. In conclusion, depression was associated with less advanced PDD and more intense motor features, while apathy was associated with more advanced cognitive impairment.

The perception of apathy by caregivers of patients with dementia in Parkinson's disease / A percepção da apatia pelos cuidadores de pacientes com demência na doença de Parkinson

ABSTRACT Background: Apathy is one of the main neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and is associated with Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD). Objective: To identify the characteristics of apathy in individuals with PDD according to caregiver perception. Methods: Thirty-nine patients with PD according to MDS criteria for PDD were included. The following scales were used: the Hoehn and Yahr, the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale III, Scales for Outcomes in Parkinson's Disease-Cognition (SCOPA Cog), the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and the Apathy Evaluation Scale (AES). Results: A total of 97.4% of the patients showed results consistent with apathy. Analysis of question 14 of the AES revealed no correlation with the total result of all the questions [r=-1293, r²=0.0167, 95%CI (-0.4274 to 0.1940), P=0.2162], however, there was a correlation of responses to the same question with depression data on the MADRS scale [r=-0.5213, r²=0.2718, 95%CI (-0.7186 to -0.2464), P=0.00033]. Conclusion: Apathy is a disorder associated with PDD. However, the scoring scheme of the AES questions can lead to different interpretations of caregiver responses, highlighting limitations of the tool for use in studies of PDD.

RESUMO Embasamento: A apatia é uma das principais manifestações neuropsiquiátricas dos pacientes com doença de Parkinson (DP) e está associada com a demência da doença de Parkinson (DDP). Objetivo: Identificar as características da apatia em indivíduos com DDP através impressão dos cuidadores. Metodos: Foram avaliados 39 pacientes com DP de acordo com os critérios da MDS para DDP. Foram usadas as escalas de Hoehn e Yahr, Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale III, Scales for Outcomes in Parkinson's Disease-Cognition (SCOPA Cog), Escala de Depressão de Montgomery-Asberg (MADSR) e Escala de Avaliação de Apatia (AES). Resultados: 97,4% dos pacientes apresentaram resultados condizentes com apatia. Analisando-se a questão 14 da AES, não foi encontrado correlação com o resultado total de todas as questões [r=-1293, r²=0,0167, 95%IC (-0.4274 a 0.1940), P=0,2162], porém, houve uma correlação das respostas da mesma questão com os dados de depressão pela escala MADSR [r=-0.5213, r²=0.2718, 95%IC (-0.7186 a -0.2464), P=0.00033]. Conclusão: A apatia é um distúrbio relacionado com a DDP. Entretanto, a forma de pontuação das questões da AES pode induzir a diferentes interpretações das respostas dos cuidadores levando-se a um questionamento sobre a limitação da ferramenta para estudos em DPP.

The perception of apathy by caregivers of patients with dementia in Parkinson's disease.

BACKGROUND: Apathy is one of the main neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and is associated with Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD). OBJECTIVE: To identify the characteristics of apathy in individuals with PDD according to caregiver perception. METHODS: Thirty-nine patients with PD according to MDS criteria for PDD were included. The following scales were used: the Hoehn and Yahr, the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale III, Scales for Outcomes in Parkinson's Disease-Cognition (SCOPA Cog), the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and the Apathy Evaluation Scale (AES). RESULTS: A total of 97.4% of the patients showed results consistent with apathy. Analysis of question 14 of the AES revealed no correlation with the total result of all the questions [r=-1293, r2=0.0167, 95%CI (-0.4274 to 0.1940), P=0.2162], however, there was a correlation of responses to the same question with depression data on the MADRS scale [r=-0.5213, r2=0.2718, 95%CI (-0.7186 to -0.2464), P=0.00033]. CONCLUSION: Apathy is a disorder associated with PDD. However, the scoring scheme of the AES questions can lead to different interpretations of caregiver responses, highlighting limitations of the tool for use in studies of PDD.

EMBASAMENTO: A apatia é uma das principais manifestações neuropsiquiátricas dos pacientes com doença de Parkinson (DP) e está associada com a demência da doença de Parkinson (DDP). OBJETIVO: Identificar as características da apatia em indivíduos com DDP através impressão dos cuidadores. METODOS: Foram avaliados 39 pacientes com DP de acordo com os critérios da MDS para DDP. Foram usadas as escalas de Hoehn e Yahr, Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale III, Scales for Outcomes in Parkinson's Disease-Cognition (SCOPA Cog), Escala de Depressão de Montgomery-Asberg (MADSR) e Escala de Avaliação de Apatia (AES). RESULTADOS: 97,4% dos pacientes apresentaram resultados condizentes com apatia. Analisando-se a questão 14 da AES, não foi encontrado correlação com o resultado total de todas as questões [r=­1293, r2=0,0167, 95%IC (­0.4274 a 0.1940), P=0,2162], porém, houve uma correlação das respostas da mesma questão com os dados de depressão pela escala MADSR [r=­0.5213, r2=0.2718, 95%IC (­0.7186 a ­0.2464), P=0.00033]. CONCLUSÃO: A apatia é um distúrbio relacionado com a DDP. Entretanto, a forma de pontuação das questões da AES pode induzir a diferentes interpretações das respostas dos cuidadores levando-se a um questionamento sobre a limitação da ferramenta para estudos em DPP.