Psychoemotional and cognitive characteristics in patients at the early stages of Parkinson's disease

The purpose of the study was to assess psychoemotional and cognitive characteristics in patients at the early stages of Parkinson's disease (PD) by neuropsychological and neurophysiological examinations. Materials and methods. A total of 40 PD patients with Hoehn and Yahr stage I-II (19 patients with stage I PD and 21 patients with stage II PD) were examined. A general physical examination and examination of the nervous system were performed in each group of patients. Neuropsychological characteristics were studied with the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS UPDRS), the Beck Depression Inventory, Starkstein Apathy Scale, Zung Anxiety Rating Scale, Vein Night Sleep Scale, Boston Stress Test. The cognitive functions were examined by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scale and cognitive evoked potentials (CEP) P300. Results. A significant increase in PD symptoms (motor and non-motor) severity (P < 0.001) according to MDS UPDRS data depending on PD stage was found. The anxiety level (P = 0.02) according to Zung Anxiety Rating Scale data and apathy level (P = 0.026) measured by Starkstein Apathy Scale, were significantly higher at stage II PD. Cognitive impairments were worsened according to the MoCA scale (P = 0.003) in 87.5 % of the patients. The prolongation of N2 latency in the right frontal area (P = 0.05) and P300 latency in all brain areas (P < 0.01) were observed in stage II PD patients. Conclusions. There was a significant difference between PD symptoms severity (motor and non-motor) in stage I and II PD patients according to MDS UPDRS. Stage II PD patients were characterized by worse cognitive impairments, increased level of anxiety and apathy as compared to stage I PD patients. The difference between cognitive decline severity in patients with PD depending on the stage was confirmed by P300 latency prolongation in stage II PD patients.