14 Prevalence of dementia in Parkinson’s disease (PDD)

Abstract

Background The Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases of the Department of Neurology of the Ospedali Riuniti of Foggia deals with the diagnosis and treatment of patients suffering from major forms of dementia and movement disorders from Foggia and from neighboring towns for many years. The prevalence (prevalence) of dementia in Parkinson’s disease (PD dementia) is reported in 40% of patients. Methods We describe the population of patients referred to the clinic for movement disorders. Data collection took place through the outpatient consultation folders that collect the personal details of patients, all medical and clinical records. Results Flow to the Center for Movement Disorders, every three months 389 patients with a diagnosis of movement disorders. Patients had the following characteristics: 300 patients with Parkinson’s disease (146 males and 154 females); 66 cases of essential tremor with high familiarity (32 males and 34 females); 12 cases of restless legs syndrome (8 males and 4 females); 6 cases of focal and segmental dystonia; 6 cases of other neurodegenerative diseases (Chorea, MSA, PSP, etc.). There is a distribution to the almost similar for all movement disorders between the sexes (191 males and 198 females). In the context of the population of patients with Parkinson’s disease related to the clinic only 27 patients were diagnosed with Parkinson’s dementia and of these 11 men and 16 women. With a prevalence of dementia, accounting for 9% of the population in question. The vast majority of these patients being treated with rivastigmine at doses ranging between 6 and 12 mg per day. In our small series the drug efficacy has shown good. Conclusions More likely than patients described have cognitive impairment, but most often are misunderstood or not the same as evidenced by patients who are used to focus their attention on movement disorders and much less on non-motor disorders. In view of the effectiveness of rivastigmine, even in our small population would be desirable to implement all appropriate diagnostic procedures to reach an early diagnosis of dementia in Parkinson’s disease in these patients to ensure a better quality of life.