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Review
. 2018 Mar 10;18(4):17.
doi: 10.1007/s11910-018-0823-9.

Mild Cognitive Impairment in Parkinson's Disease-What Is It?

Rimona S Weil  1   2 , Alyssa A Costantini  2 , Anette E Schrag  3   4
Affiliations
Review

Mild Cognitive Impairment in Parkinson's Disease-What Is It?

Rimona S Weil et al. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep. .

Abstract

Purpose of review: Mild cognitive impairment is a common feature of Parkinson's disease, even at the earliest disease stages, but there is variation in the nature and severity of cognitive involvement and in the risk of conversion to Parkinson's disease dementia. This review aims to summarise current understanding of mild cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease. We consider the presentation, rate of conversion to dementia, underlying pathophysiology and potential biomarkers of mild cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease. Finally, we discuss challenges and controversies of mild cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease.

Recent findings: Large-scale longitudinal studies have shown that cognitive involvement is important and common in Parkinson's disease and can present early in the disease course. Recent criteria for mild cognitive impairment in Parkinson's provide the basis for further study of cognitive decline and for the progression of different cognitive phenotypes and risk of conversion to dementia. Improved understanding of the underlying pathology and progression of cognitive change are likely to lead to opportunities for early intervention for this important aspect of Parkinson's disease.

Keywords: Dementia; Mild cognitive impairment; Parkinson’s disease.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest

Rimona S. Weil and Alyssa A. Costantini declare no conflict of interest.

Anette E. Schrag has received grants from the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR), Economic and Social Research Council, GE Healthcare, Parkinson’s UK, EU FP7, and the Movement Disorders Society and was supported by the National Institute for Health Research University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre. Dr. Schrag has also received consultancy fees from Medtronic and owned shares in Astra Zeneca.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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