Diferencias práxicas según subtipos de deterioro cognitivo en un grupo de pacientes con enfermedad de Parkinson avanzada

Objective: We talk about advanced Parkinson’s disease (PD) when conventional therapy does not provide motor control. Praxis alterations have been described in these patients as part of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) from early stages. The objective of this work is to determine the difference between praxis alterations and the subtype of DCL in a group of patients with advanced PD. Methodology: cross-sectional observational-analytical design in patients with PD examined in consultation for neuropsychological evaluation in 2014. The diagnostic categories were compared according to the apraxic predominance. In addition, we explored if there was a relationship between praxis alterations and posterior cortical vs. Frontosubcortical predominance. Three groups were categorized: group 1) Non-amnestic-executive monodomain DCL, group 2) Apraxic and executive dominance multi-domain DCL, and group 3) Multi-domain DCL –with more than two altered cognitive domains–. Results: there was a greater predominance of body and visuoconstructional apraxies in groups 2 and 3. The findings show differences when comparing praxical abilities between subgroups (p <0.05), as well as a pattern of gradual performance decrease in tests according to subtype of DCL. No relationship was found between the groups for posterior cortical and frontosubcortical predominance in body praxias. There werehigher levels of posterior cortical involvement in group 3 than in group 2, for ideomotorpraxias (right and left) and ideational praxias. There was a relationship between the presence of visuocontructional apraxias and frontosubcortical dysfunction (p <0.01) in the three groups. Conclusions: Participants with advanced PD could present praxis alterations that are not characteristic of dementia. We confirm that apraxia is possible in patients with MCI without dementia, due to minor lesions of the parietal cortex that do not explain major functional loss.