MDS task force on mild cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease: Critical review of PD‐MCI

TLDR

There is controversy over how mild cognitive impairment is defined and characterized in Parkinson’s disease. The Movement Disorder Society Task Force was commissioned to critically evaluate the literature to determine the prevalence, characteristics, and dementia risk of Parkinson’s disease–mild cognitive impairment. The Task Force performed a comprehensive PubMed review using systematic inclusion and exclusion criteria. The review found that 26.7 % of nondemented Parkinson’s disease patients have mild cognitive impairment, a prevalence that rises with age, disease duration, and severity; impairments span multiple cognitive domains, with single‑domain, non‑amnestic deficits being most common, and a substantial proportion progress rapidly to dementia, underscoring the heterogeneity of PD‑MCI and its role as a risk factor for dementia, thereby highlighting the need for formal diagnostic criteria. © 2011 Movement Disorder Society.

Abstract

Abstract There is controversy regarding the definition and characteristics of mild cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease. The Movement Disorder Society commissioned a Task Force to critically evaluate the literature and determine the frequency and characteristics of Parkinson's disease–mild cognitive impairment and its association with dementia. A comprehensive PubMed literature review was conducted using systematic inclusion and exclusion criteria. A mean of 26.7% (range, 18.9%–38.2%) of nondemented patients with Parkinson's disease have mild cognitive impairment. The frequency of Parkinson's disease–mild cognitive impairment increases with age, disease duration, and disease severity. Impairments occur in a range of cognitive domains, but single domain impairment is more common than multiple domain impairment, and within single domain impairment, nonamnestic is more common than amnestic impairment. A high proportion of patients with Parkinson's disease–mild cognitive impairment progress to dementia in a relatively short period of time. The primary conclusions of the Task Force are that: (1) Parkinson's disease–mild cognitive impairment is common, (2) there is significant heterogeneity within Parkinson's disease–mild cognitive impairment in the number and types of cognitive domain impairments, (3) Parkinson's disease–mild cognitive impairment appears to place patients at risk of progressing to dementia, and (4) formal diagnostic criteria for Parkinson's disease–mild cognitive impairment are needed. © 2011 Movement Disorder Society