Frontal lobe dysfunctions in Parkinson's disease

J Korean Neurol Assoc > Volume 16(2); 1998 > Article

Journal of the Korean Neurological Association 1998;16(2): 166-171.

파킨슨씨병 환자의 전두엽 기능 장애에 관한 연구

홍양의, 이애영·김재문

충남대학교 의과대학 신경과학교실

Frontal lobe dysfunctions in Parkinson's disease

Yang-Eui Hong, Ae-Young Lee, Jae-Moon Kim

Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, Chungnam National University

Abstract

A wide range of cognitive impairments and depression can be observed in most patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). But the underlying mechanism of these changes has not to be clarified yet. This study evaluated whether the frontal lobe dysfunctions contribute to the cognitive deficits in PD by comparison with age and education-matched controls. The neuropsychological tests known to be sensitive to frontal lobe dysfunction were performed to 38 patients with PD and matched 24 controls. These were composed of 'Category Fluency Test (CFT)' including objects, animals, & nations and 'Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST)'. General cognition and depression were measured 'Korean Mini-Mental State Examination (K-MMSE)' and 'Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)' respectively. We examined the degree of motor disabilities in PD using the Hoehn-Yahr Stage. Patients with PD were assessed before noon and during the "On" time of levodopa to reduce the diurnal variation of mood and drug effects. Although PD patients, compared with controls, showed decreased ability in attention & calculation, memory, and visuo-spatial construction, the most prominent deficit was frontal lobe dysfunction evaluated with WCST and CFTs. Cognitive impairments in PD did not attribute to the discrepancy of education level or associated depression. So we suggest that the frontal lobe dysfunction may play an important role for cognitive impairments in PD.