Clinical and Neuropsychological Differences between Mild Parkinson's Disease Dementia and Dementia with Lewy Bodies

Abstract

Background: The specific profile of dementia in Parkinson's disease (PDD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) in the earliest stages of dementia is still unclear and subject of considerable controversy. Methods: We investigated 27 PDD patients and 24 DLB patients with parkinsonism in the early stage of dementia, i.e. with a Mini-Mental State Examination score of ≥24. Results: Compared to PDD, patients with DLB demonstrated significantly lower scores when testing attention and executive functions [modified card sorting test (p Conclusions: The cognitive profile in PDD differs from that in DLB in the early stage of dementia, with worse performance on tests of attention and executive functions and constructive abilities in DLB compared to PDD patients. In contrast, motor symptoms are more severe in PDD than in DLB.

Keywords

• Parkinsonߣs disease
• Mild dementia
• Dementia with Lewy bodies
• Clinical presentation